The Cutie and the Freak
by flor-desu
Summary: Natsume the biggest FREAK at school falls in love with Mikan's best friend.She makes a deal with him,she'll make him popular and get him the girl on one condition.But when they find out about certain family secrets that tie them together what will happen?
1. Introduction

**The Cutie and the Freak**

**A/N:**I have reread and corrected the whole story. I didn't really change it though so if you were following the story you don't need to reread anything. I just felt I needed to polish some of the rough edges is all. Enjoy.

**Summary:** Hyuuga Natsume, 16 years old, and Alice Gakuen's biggest FREAK, is madly in love with someone he shouldn't be, Imai Hotaru, his classmate and Sakura Mikan's (a.k.a Miss. Popularity) best friend. When our dear brunette finds out about this, she makes a deal with him. She'll turn him into the most popular guy at school, and make him Hotaru's boyfriend… "What's the catch?" he asks her. She can clearly see the fear in his eyes through his thick glasses as she smirks at him. "You have to help me pass math!!" she says with a pleading look in her eyes.

**Disclaimer:** I sure as hell hope I owned Gakuen Alice, maybe I will when I take over the world… Muahahaha (evil laughter) just kidding.

**Chapter 1 Introduction**

**(Natsume's PoV)**

My name is Hyuuga Natsume; I'm 16 years old and I'm a sophomore student at the most snob, expensive school in the world, Alice Gakuen. Yeah so I'm one of those rich kids, but I'm nothing like those bastards from school, I realize I'm not the best just because I have money. My life is pretty much like any other kid's life, only a little bit more boring. Let's just say I'm that type of person you look at and think "Poor guy, thank god I'm not him."

Hey, I'm not complaining or anything, I mean being the school's freak is a tough job, and somebody has to do it. So here I am, every single day of my existence is limited to going to school, not talking to anyone unless I'm spoken to before, being bullied by… well, almost every person at school, never to talk back, and always look weird.

You'd think that I could try to change the way I look, move somewhere far away, change schools and start anew. Yeah well it's useless, what's the point anyway? I've already gotten used to being bullied, it doesn't matter anymore. Some people are just born to be hated by all, while others like my classmate, Sakura Mikan (a.k.a Miss. Popularity) exist for the sole purpose of being loved and adored by the masses.

I can't believe people actually like her, don't get me wrong, she is pretty, in a mass-produced-Barbie way, but she can be quite the bitch. I guess that it's a requirement for being popular though. Just like walking around with your brainless minions following you around like you're Jesus Christ or something, laughing at your idiotic (not funny) jokes just so that you like them more, and mocking anyone who isn't, well… you.

There are basically four groups of people in this school. There's the most important of them all, the one everyone would like to be in, Sakura's group. Then the second from the top, Shouda Sumire's group, the not so popular girls who try to desperately to be liked by Sakura but actually despise her with all their hearts. The third one is the group of normal people who don't really stand out in anything. And the fourth is the nerds, bookworms, smart people, or whatever you want to call them.

Where do I fit in here? Nowhere really, I'm in a fifth group reserved only for myself, the group nobody would like to be in but somebody (me) has to be in. All in all you'd think it sucks being me, and you're probably right, but if it weren't me being the school's freak somebody else would. I'd rather be the target of all their jokes instead of leaving it up to someone else who might not be able to bear it.

But in all honesty, the real reason why I take all of their insults every morning is to see the only girl who has a brain in this hell hole, Imai Hotaru, who unfortunately happens to be Sakura's best friend. I know what you're thinking, I'm an idiot, falling in love with the devil's best friend, but I can't help it, she's the smartest, sweetest girl I've ever seen. I haven't ever really talked to her (or heard her talk for that matter) per se, but I bet she has the most beautiful voice in the world.

She's the only one who never laughs at Miss. Popularity's stupid jokes, and never compliments her or kisses the ground she steps on. I really don't know why they are best friends. I always think that if she wasn't Sakura's friend maybe I would be able to approach her and talk to her, but then again someone like her would never talk to me, after all I'm Hyuuga Natsume, no one is allowed to talk to me unless it is to insult me.

So my high school life has been like this ever since the first day of freshman year, the only hope I have is that once school is over I won't have to see any of these people again ever. It's a shame about Imai though, I wish I could go to the same university she is, but I guess not.

* * *

**(Mikan's PoV)**

My name is Sakura Mikan; I'm 16 years old and I'm a student at the most prestigious school in Japan, Alice Gakuen. I'm that kind of person every girl looks at and thinks "I wish I could be her!" and every guy thinks "I wish I could have her!" My life is pretty much made; my dad is the chairman of a major international company, so I have everything I want, and what I don't I can get by just snapping my fingers.

Everyone thinks I'm the spoiled selfish brat type of girl, and I don't blame them. That's the image I try to give, for in Alice Gakuen if you are not a filthy rich bitch you are no one. So I decided when I entered this school to discard the old "I'm nice although I have money" Mikan, and became the "I can buy YOU if I want to so get out of my way" Mikan for a change.

Now everyone around me seems to either love me, despise me but try to make me like them, or just plain hate me like that kid Hyuuga. But who cares about him, he's the school's freak, nobody really cares about what he thinks. I kind of feel sorry for him though, to be honest with you, during middle school I was like him, that's why I decided to change to be accepted in high school. Now they call me Miss. Popularity can you believe it? The only person who really remembers the real me is my best friend Hotaru, she's the only one that is there to remind me who I really am and makes sure I don't forget it.

Hotaru has been my friend ever since I can remember, we've always been together. She's the only one I can really trust, the rest of my so called friends are too afraid to tell me things straight forwardly, maybe they are scared I won't like them. Well I'd rather they fear me and seek my acceptance than they hate me. It's not me who has to impress them anyway, at least not anymore.

In a way I sort of admire that Hyuuga kid, he comes to this school full of rich kids and lets everyone bully him. I heard he has a scholarship so he can't get into trouble or they will take it from him and he won't be able to afford coming to this school. I would like to stop everyone from mocking him, but I can't, and I know this is gonna sound bitchy, but I don't want to ruin the reputation I've created this past two years just for him.

So maybe I've become quite the bitch in the past couple of years, but hey! It's survival of the fittest, right? If I have to be a bitch to survive through high school, so be it, I'll be the worst bitch the world has ever known.

That Hyuuga kid, he's so easy to read! He's completely head over heels for Hotaru! He's been staring at her with that lame face ever since class started. I don't think Hotaru will ever notice him though… AH! What am I thinking? I have to concentrate in math right now! If I fail again Jinno-sensei threatened to make me repeat the whole year! Umm… Ugh! I don't get any of this!

What am I gonna do?! I don't want to fail math!! And Hotaru said she wouldn't teach me because she's afraid my stupidity is contagious!! Some best friend she is!! Hmm let's see… Who else is on this class that could help me? AH! I got it! That Hyuuga he's good at math right? He always gets at least 90 in the exams. I'll have him tutor me.

No… why would HE want to help ME? Plus it would be weird if people saw me with him. AH! I know, I'll have him teach me math and I'll give him Hotaru. It's genius! Err is it really okay to sell off my friend like that? Well, if I make him good looking maybe… _-Sweat drops-_ Wait, is that even possible?

Yeah that'll have to do… Okay! All for the sake of passing math!

Okay I'll send him a message through air mail…

* * *

**(Natsume's PoV)**

Oh god, why did she have to sit right in front of me? I can't concentrate now! All I can do is staring at the back of her head like an idiot. If she could see my face right now, she would probably be freaked out. Concentrate now Natsume! Math, math!

If Train 1 leaves from point A at a hundred miles per hour and Train 2 leaves from point B three hours later at eighty miles per hour, how long will it take for the two trains to meet if the distance between point A and B is seven-hundred miles?

Okay, if we consider X as the speed of train 1 and…

This is useless I can't focus; I know all this stuff anyways, no need to worry about it. Her hair looks so shiny when… -_thud_- ouch! What the-? A paper airplane? It has a message "_You like her don't you?_" HUH!? WHAT?! Who the-?! I slowly turn around my head to see who threw that… Oh no… Not her god no!

I turn around only to see Miss. Popularity herself waving at me with a stupid grin plastered on her face. Oh my god, she knows. I'm screwed. What is she gonna do? Huh? She's signaling me to turn the paper around. Let's see… "_Wait for me after school behind the gym, we'll talk then" _Talk? About what? What I have to do for her so that she doesn't tell Imai I like her?

She gives me a thumbs-up with that stupid grin still plastered on her face. This is certainly gonna be a long day… I try my best to smile but I can only manage to twitch. Damn it, I was fine with being bullied and all, but this is a completely different thing! I guess I'll have to talk my way out of this and convince her that I don't like Imai. For now concentrate on math…

YEAH AS IF I CAN DO THAT NOW!!!

* * *

**To be continued…**


	2. Deal

**A/N:** Glad to know there are other people who like having Natsume work his way up. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** As always I don't own Gakuen Alice blah blah blah… Don't you suing guys get it already?

**Chapter 2 Deal**

**(Natsume's PoV)**

Oh god… I can't believe I actually came here. I've been waiting for like an hour now, is she really coming? -S_igh- _Maybe she was just mocking me, she made me come all the way here and wait like an idiot for her to show up even though she probably wasn't planning to come from the start. Well, I'm not waiting anymore I'm going home.

**

* * *

**

**(Mikan's PoV)**

Well it's been enough time already, I guess it's safe to come out now, no one is gonna see me talking to him. Huh? He's leaving? Geez, that guy has no patience. I'd better stop him, if someone sees him and comes this way I'll lose my chance to talk to him without being noticed…

* * *

**(Natsume's PoV)**

"Wait up Hyuuga-kun!" it's her, about time to show up. "I'm sorry I'm late I had some very important business to attend to and I couldn't-." Blah, blah excuses… I don't really care…

"Cut the crap Sakura, I know you don't want to be here talking to me, and I sure as hell don't want to waste my precious time talking to you so just cut to the chase… What could you possibly want to black-mail me for?"

"Hey! Don't be so mean Hyuuga-kun, I'm trying to be nice here!" she pouts, does she think it makes her look cute or something? It looks stupid, and besides what's nice about black-mailing people?

"Whatever, just hurry up and state your business…" I answer coldly. I hate her, and I'm not gonna pretend to like her as everyone else does, that's the only good thing about being the school freak.

"Fine then, Kazume I… Can I call you Kazume?"

WHAT!? Who on earth is Kazume? Does she mean me? She thinks that's my name?! SHE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW MY FIRST NAME??!!

"No…" I don't even want to bother explaining why not…

"Eh? Why not? Come on, aren't friends supposed to call each other by their names?"

And aren't friends supposed to know each other's REAL name? Seriously how self-centered can a person be? We've been classmates for almost two years now and she doesn't even know my name… AND BESIDES SINCE WHEN ARE _**WE**_ FRIENDS?

"Fine, then following your line of thinking I can call you Minako, right?" let's see if her small brain can take a hint.

"Huh, Minako? Why would you want to call me that?" she blinks and cocks her head to one side. She seems to be completely oblivious to the fact that my name isn't Kazume -_sigh-_ she's stupider than I thought. Well, if hints don't work I guess I'll just have to tell her, I don't want the rest of the school's student body to start calling me Kazume.

"I don't know. Why would you want to call me Kazume?" okay if she doesn't get it now I'm seriously gonna start doubting whether or not there actually is a brain in her head.

"Well because it's your name dummy! But I think you got mine wrong, I'm Mikan, I'm surprised you didn't know that! Everyone knows my name at school. I thought a social dropout like you would know too…" I'm just gonna ignore that last part for now. She sounds really surprised, and is probably still completely unaware of the fact that it's _HER_ who doesn't know _MY _name.

Without noticing my right hand slaps my forehead, I rub my eyes with my finger tips and sigh yet again. I can feel a headache coming. I mean I had the suspicion that she was a brainless person, but I would have never imagined her stupidity came to this extent.

"You know… I must admit you really amaze me sometimes…" yeah well I don't mean it in a good way but if I were to say exactly what I'm thinking right now… I'm afraid all hell might break lose…

"Really? Well many people say that but, I mean I don't like to brag but-..." she just keeps talking nonstop. Oh God please kill me now… Or better yet KILL HER! Why can't she stop babbling for a while! Geez!

"I…" if she doesn't shut up on her own… "I don't mean it as a compliment you know…" I'll do it myself.

Her annoying proud face suddenly turns into a frown. Great at least now she'll get to the point…

"You know if you're gonna be like that maybe I won't help you then…" Did she just say help? With what? "I come all the way back here to meet you, I try to be nice, even friendly calling you by your name and you just-." She still hasn't realized my name isn't Kazume.

"Yeah right… Just so you know 'nice' people don't black-mail other people. And I just came all the way here to tell you that I don't like Imai so you're wasting your time with me…" I wonder if she'll buy it. I mean she's pretty dumb so I guess she will…

"Black-mail? I'm not here to black-mail you! I wanted to make a deal with you but seeing how you're not interested in Hotaru at all I guess-." She thinks she's very smart with that sarcastic tone… Hold on… deal? She couldn't possibly mean... it's insane; she wants to sell off her best friend to _ME_… but why?

"Wait… by deal, you mean Imai in exchange for something?" she wouldn't, would she? I mean what kind of friend is she?

"Exactly…" she smirks "Well, actually… yeah it's pretty much that…" huh?

"Define pretty much…" I don't accept vague answers.

"Well I can't hook up my best friend with... Umm well _YOU_… no offense but-." What's with the tone!? Bitch…

"None taken…" yeah right…

"Anyway, here's the deal…" she pauses…

* * *

**(Normal PoV)**

"Go on…" he tells her very intrigued.

"I can't let Hotaru be seen in public with a guy like you… So my plan is to turn _YOU_ into the most popular, hot guy at school. That way it won't be embarrassing for her or _**ME**_ to be seen hanging out with you…" says Mikan as everything she was saying was a given thing and there was no way around it.

"Oh now I get what you meant with 'help'. Sorry but I don't need your help, I'm comfortable enough being who I am. I'm already used to it, I don't think I could tolerate having to be like you and your little minions…" he was about to walk away when…

"Really? Are you really okay with it?" he stops, her words echoing inside his head. "Being rejected I mean. I know what it feels like, and you can't possibly be fine with it, no one can." Mikan shouted to make sure he heard her.

'_SHE knows what it feels like? How could SHE Miss. Popularity know what it feels like to be hated by everyone?'_ he thought clenching his teeth.

"You know nothing! Stop pretending to be nice! Stop pretending to understand and care! You don't give a shit about anything that isn't you!" he yells at her.

"You don't even know anything about me, so don't speak as if you know everything twerp! I'm not here to be friends with you, and you're probably right, truth is I really don't care about you; you're just another one of my classmates, big deal! I'm here giving you the chance of your life, you can either take it now or go back to being you. I can get someone else to help me anyway…" She retorts yelling almost as loud.

Natsume just stays quiet for a while. Her words shocked him a little. He knew she didn't really care but he never expected her to admit it.

"So let's just hypothetically say I accept this 'deal'. What do I have to do? What's the catch?" he asks her. She can clearly see the fear in his eyes through his thick glasses as she smirks at him.

She clasps both her hands together over her head. "You have to help me pass math!!" she says with a pleading look in her eyes. His eyes widen, he surely didn't see that one coming.

"That's it?" he asks, confusion written all over his face. "I only have to teach you math?"

"Yup" she answers with a sweet smile.

"I don't believe you… You're lying." He starts walking away again.

"I AM NOT!" she says pouting "Look I'll be honest with you… This is something no one else knows so don't tell anyone." He suddenly becomes interested and stops to listen. "If I don't pass math this year Jinno-sensei said I would have to -_gulp-_ repeat the second year!! I DON'T WANT TO! Do you have any idea how bad for my image that would be?!" The boy just looks at her really puzzled and finally decides to answer.

"'I'll think about it…" he says.

"WHAT?! What's there to think about!? It's a really simple matter! Come on you just have to say yes and we'll get started right away…" she grabs his wrist and starts pulling him, but he doesn't move.

"I said I will think about it… can't you understand a simple five word sentence?" he says pretty angry taking his hand back.

"FINE! But I want your answer first thing tomorrow or I'll take my proposition to someone else, I'm not gonna wait forever you know Kazume!" she answers frowning.

He turns around and says "Yeah, yeah… I'll give you my answer first thing tomorrow morning then master Minako-sama…" he says sarcastically, bows down and continues "By the way… My name isn't Kazume; you should try to find out people's real names before calling them out." And then he walks away.

'_Crap… I get the Minako thing now… Oh well no matter… But I still have to find out his real name by tomorrow…'_ she thinks as she heads to the parking lot.

* * *

**(Natsume's PoV)**

I don't think I can trust her… I mean come on! She just wants me to teach her math? She can't be serious, go through all that trouble to get me to teach her math? It can't be… She can get anyone else in the world to do it, why me? And why not just ask for it as a favor, or pay instead of doing all of this?

I should do it anyway. I've got nothing to lose anyway. It's not like I have a reputation to protect or anything. In the worst case scenario I'll just go back to being my former self.

**

* * *

**

**(Mikan's PoV)**

AH! I can't believe it! It's the first time something like this happens to me. I can't wait until tomorrow! It's so not fair!

I come all the way here for this just to be told to wait until tomorrow! Stupid store, I'm gonna sue them for not having a skirt my size; this is discrimination against thin people! I shouldn't have to wait a full day to be able to buy my skirt! Geez, if only it wasn't such a cute must-have-skirt. Plus it really goes with that new strapless top I bought yesterday to match those gorgeous shoes I got the other day!

**

* * *

**

**(Normal PoV – The next morning)**

Natsume is on his way to school. Like everyday he leaves his house one hour before class starts, cause he goes walking, and he likes to take his time. He walks although his dad always insists that he takes one of the cars, but he always answers that it's a waste of money and time considering school is just about eight blocks away.

He's minding his own business, stopping at the edge of the sidewalk checking if no cars are coming and when he's sure it's safe, he starts walking across the street, when suddenly out of nowhere a pink Volkswagen Beetle comes at him at full speed, almost running him over and parking right in front of him. Natsume falls backwards to the floor panting and shaking.

One of the car's front windows opens revealing Mikan sitting on the driver's seat, wearing sunglasses. (A/N: Talk about Barbie Girl...)

"WHAT THE HELL? ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?!?!" He yells at her while standing up.

"Relax… I wasn't gonna run you over..." she answers calmly looking out of the window and lowering her glasses with the hand that isn't holding the steering wheel. "More importantly… What's your answer?"

"You came all the way here just to ask that?" he dusts his clothes and picks up his bag from the floor.

"Yes, you said first thing in the morning and I'm planning to hold you to your word. So… what's your answer? I don't have all day you know…" her voice starts sounding rather irritated.

"Fine…" he says as if he were spitting the word.

"So you'll do it? No turning back? Word of honor?" she asks unbelievingly.

"I guess…" he sighs.

"Great! Get in then…" she opens the door to the passenger's seat. Distrustfully he gets into the car and buckles his seatbelt. He starts scanning the interior of the car and when he turns around to look at the back seat he notices three people.

"Who the-?" He starts talking as Mikan starts the car and drives away at full speed.

"Ah… I forgot to tell you I've brought some of my closest truthful friends to help me out. Don't worry, they agreed to keep all of this confidential and found it pretty amusing too…" she explains smiling and not taking her eyes off the road.

Mikan takes a sharp turn to the left a couple of blocks after that. Natsume doesn't seem to mind about the three persons sitting behind him anymore; right now he's worried about something much more important.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING??!! SCHOOL IS THE OTHER WAY!" he yells pointing to the opposite direction the girl's driving to.

"Who said anything about going to school?" she answers plainly as a tiny smirk forms on her lips.

* * *

**A/N:** Who are the people sitting at the back? Where are they going? Well with Mikan's driving let's just hope it's not the hospital…

**To be continued…**


	3. Polkadots!

**A/N:** Yay I'm back to bring you chapter 3! I'm really glad you all like it! Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gakuen Alice.

**Chapter 3 Polka-dots!**

**(Normal PoV)**

"Stop the car, I'm getting off…" Natsume tells her.

"I'm not stopping the car, you can jump off if you want to, and then if you survive you can go to school on your own…" she answers plainly.

"You've gotta be kidding, there's no need to skip school. It's Friday, we have all weekend to start whatever it is that you want to start!" he tries to convince her.

"Well then the more reason to skip school, we need all the time we can get. Our dead line to turn you into someone else is Monday, and believe me, we're gonna need every second of this weekend to do it…" she brusquely stops the car in front of a huge gate which slowly starts to open. Natsume stares at it and as the car moves forward a huge mansion comes into sight.

"Your 'humble home' I presume?" he says in a mocking tone.

"Believe me, there's nothing 'humble' about it…" she answers laughing. (A/N: -_Falls backwards anime style-_ yeah… well… no comment needed…) As they approach the house, Natsume notices another smaller building next to it. "That big place right there, that's the main house. We are going over there…" she says pointing to the smaller one. "That's my bedroom…" she finally says.

"Bedroom?! A whole family could live in there!" he thinks while she stops the car in a random place. "You're parking here in the middle of the park? Just like that?" He asks looking around.

"Yeah, nobody comes here besides me anyway… So it's okay…" she opens the door and gets out of the car, and the other three who had been sitting in the backseat silently until now do the same. Follow me…" Natsume quickly unbuckles his seatbelt and gets out of the car.

While they walk to Mikan's _room_ he can hear them whispering to each other, apparently not noticing he's listening to every word they say.

"_Yeah well clothes obviously… and look at his hair! We need to do something about it quickly, I can't even stand seeing it!" _whispers one of Mikan's friends.

Natsume suddenly stops and turns around to look at the people who have been 'discretely' talking about him all along. "You know I can hear everything you're saying! If you wanna talk about me, do it while I'm not around!" he shouts. "And who are these guys anyway?!" he says pointing at the three people who'd been following Mikan.

"It's not like it's not meant for you to hear… We were gonna tell you, eventually, but we didn't want you to run away so we couldn't tell you just yet…" she retorts. "Oh! These guys! I'm sorry, you're right I haven't introduced you yet…" she continues as she grabs one of them and pushes him until he's face to face with Natsume.

"This is Hijiri Youichi, he's 15, and he's a freshman, 1st year class B." (A/N: OKAY! I know Youichi isn't just one year younger than them! But I really wanted to include him because he's such a cute character! I don't want anyone saying things like 'You know Youichi should be like eight years old here.' And stuff. This is my story and I wanted to change it. Writers have whims too you know.)

The kouhai doesn't move or say anything. (A/N: Kouhai – Underclassman / Senpai – Upperclassman) He just stands there expressionless staring at Natsume. '_Not a man of many words huh?' _He thinks as he looks at the grayish haired boy. "Umm I'm Hyuu-." He's interrupted by Mikan.

"Anyway, moving on…" she pushes Youichi aside and grabs a blonde boy's hand. "You should know him… He's Nogi Ruka, like us he's 16 and is in 2nd year, but he's in class A." she says quickly, and starts pushing Ruka to the side. Pointing at the last person who remains without an introduction she says "Oh! And this is-." the figure she was pointing at starts walking forward, approaching Natsume.

An evil grin plastered on his face as he lifts a hand covering Mikan's face making her stop talking. '_If only I had known you could shut her up like that before…' _Natsume thinks smiling inwardly.

"I think I can introduce myself Mikan…" he says confidently, slowly lowering his hand and grinning even more. "My name is Andou Tsubasa, I'm 17. I'm in 3rd year class A…" (A/N: OKAY! So, same thing as Youichi, I know Tsubasa isn't just one year older, but whatever, I wanted to include him too.)

"_Hmph, self-centered bastard…_" Natsume mutters.

"OH RIGHT! You guys, this um… possibly human thingy here is Hyuuga Kazume, he's in my class…" Mikan says turning to her friends and pointing at Natsume.

"What do you mean with 'possibly'?! And I thought I told you my name isn't Kazume!" he says, a vein popping on his forehead.

Completely ignoring him, she just goes on talking "We have to turn him into a decent person before he's presented in society on Monday. So we have to cover everything from hair and clothes to behavior-."

He walks up to Mikan and lifts a hand in front of her face hoping she'll shut up, but she just slaps his hand away and continues "You-chan, you'll help with the behavior part, you'll teach him how to remain calm and keep his cool at all times, got it?…" the grey-haired boy does nothing, not even nod. "Great, next up…" she says turning to look the blonde.

'_Why doesn't it work when I try to shut her up? Has it finally happened? Have I become completely invisible?' _he starts waving both his hands in the air expecting them to notice, but nobody even turns to look at him. The girl just carries on "Ruka-pyon, you're in charge of the clothes, we're going to the mall to choose those later on, okay?" he nods in agreement and she turns to her senpai "Tsubasa-senpai, I need you to teach him how to interact with people, you have to show him how to speak, what to say, how to move, what to do and what NOT to do …" Natsume starts making weird faces behind Mikan trying to get a reaction from someone, and when he is about to give up and admit defeat, a muffled chuckle escapes Ruka's mouth. '_Well at least I'm not invisible' _he thinks smiling slightly.

"Is there something you want to share with the rest of the class Ruka-pyon?" she asks with a very annoying tone.

"I'm very sorry Minako-sensei. It's my fault, I made Ruka-kun laugh, don't send him to the principal's office!" Natsume says trying (to no avail) to hold back his laughter. Mikan glares at him and Ruka puts a hand to cover his mouth and starts laughing along with Natsume.

"Okay play time is over!" she shouts.

"Minako-sensei, please don't give us detention! My parents will ground me!" Natsume says holding his stomach from laughing too much, Ruka still trying to hide his laughter behind fake coughs.

"Kazume I'm warning you stop playing around or else!" she says curling her hand into a fist and holding it up.

"I don't know how many times I have to tell you my name isn't Kazume… It's Natsume… I bet your brain can process that small amount of information." He stops laughing.

"I don't care whether your name is Kazume or Minako or whatever just-." She answers angrily.

"It's Natsume… Okay? Now repeat after me Na-." he says in a mocking tone.

"Whatever…" she says rolling her eyes.

"No, not whatever… Naaa-." He opens his mouth wider and makes a funny face making Ruka laugh out loud. Youichi just stares emotionlessly and Tsubasa sweat drops and sighs, both of them thinking '_Such kids…'_

"WHATEVER! Let's just get on with this already… I think I feel a headache coming…" She says rubbing her eyes.

'_Now you know what it feels like…'_ he chuckles. They start walking to Mikan's room again, no one saying a word. When she opens the door Natsume's eyes widen. The first things he notices is the huge flat screen T.V and the multiple video game consoles lying around, and the gigantic collection of videogames sorted out on the shelves.

"This is the living-room; you can drop your stuff anywhere you want." She turns around and starts pointing at couple of doors and as she points to each she explains what it is. "Over there is the guests' bathroom, that's the kitchen, right there that's my room, and those other two doors are the guests' rooms." Natsume's jaw drops.

"You have a kitchen here? And you have TWO guests' rooms? What do you need TWO for? Isn't one enough?" he asks surprised.

"No, what if I have more than one guest? I need one more guest room! And two isn't enough either. You guys will have to share rooms since there's four of you and-." He turns to look at her.

"WHAT?!" he shouts. "What do you mean with 'share rooms'? We have to stay here?"

"I told you we needed every second right? We can't waste time having everyone go back home and then back here…" she explains.

"But… but I… What about my parents? They're gonna kill me if I disappear the whole weekend." He says trying to persuade her to let him go.

"Don't worry, I had my butler call your house and explain the situation to your parents… Changing a couple of details of course…" she says confidently.

"When did you do that? I've been with you the whole time and you never…" she cuts him off.

"This morning before I left to pick you up…"

"But you didn't even know if I was gonna say yes! And yet you call my house and… what the hell did you tell my parents?" he asks confused.

"Relax… I had my butler tell them he was calling from the Nogi household to announce that their son Hyuuga Kazume was going to Osaka for the weekend with master Ruka." Smiling as she explains her master plan.

"You DO realize that my name isn't Kazume right? I mean at least now you understand that my name is Natsume, right?" he says sighing not caring anymore about whether he has to stay or not.

"Yeah whatever… Anyway let's get on with your transformation. Take off those hideous clothes at once and we'll get started…" she says looking at him up and down. "They are too loose; I can't know what type of clothes will suit you better if I don't know what your body looks like!"

"I'm not going to undress here! Are you cra-?" Mikan glares at him and continues.

"Don't behave like a girl! You're not gonna be wearing _those_ anymore so what does it matter?" she says with a disgusted tone pointing at his oversized old sweatshirt and his baggy jogging pants.

"There's nothing wrong with the way I dress! And I'm not undressing in front of a girl!" he retorts.

"I knew you were gonna say that, and if you're not gonna cooperate we're gonna have to do it the hard way… You-chan, Ruka-pyon, Tsubasa-senpai if you don't mind…" Quickly the three boys hold him so that he can't move. She grabs a remote control presses a couple of buttons and music starts to play very loud "In case you start shouting like a girl, I don't want people coming to interrupt." She says and smirks. "This is payback for before…"

"What the-? LET GO OFF ME!" he starts shaking to break free, but he's easily overpowered by the three males holding him.

Ruka looks him and says "You can spare all of us the suffering and do it yourself you know…"

"FINE! I'LL DO IT MYSELF! BUT LET ME GO!" he shouts at Mikan, as if it were her who was holding him.

"You're such a girl… -_sigh-_You can release him…" she says waving her hand. The three boys drop him on the floor and back away. Natsume walks into the bathroom and comes out only wearing his boxers. They all put a hand over their mouths trying to hold back their laughter.

"What?!" he asks slightly blushing.

"Na- nothing…" says Mikan not being able to contain herself anymore. "Nice underwear…" she says pointing at his boxers. "POLKA-DOTS! BWHAAHAHAHAHAH!!!" they all start laughing out loud

"Whatever can we just get on with this already?" he asks very pissed off.

"Yeah, yeah, sorry about that…" she answers wiping a tear away and still holding her stomach from laughing too much. "Okay so your clothes are to lose, they hide your body too much, we're getting you a whole new wardrobe, Ruka-pyon you know what I mean right?" The blonde boy nods and starts writing a few things down in a notebook.

"What about you? Your clothes are too tight and small. Aren't they cutting your blood circulation?" he retorts trying to imitate the tone she just used.

"Okay, I'm gonna start right away with my task…" Tsubasa tells him "Rule number 1… You NEVER under ANY circumstance make fun of a girl's outfit or the way she talks." He finishes and throws himself on a couch.

"We'll handle that later…" Mikan says disregarding whatever he said. "Right, hair… I seriously have no comment for this… You-chan would you pass me that comb?" she points at a comb that's lying on the table and Youichi hands it to her.

"What's wrong with my hair?" he says putting a hand on his head and sliding it to the back of his neck.

"Well the color is okay, but why do you have to comb it like that? You use so much hair gel it actually looks like a cow just licked your head!" she starts combing it to the sides and making it a little messy with her free hand. "Umm we're gonna have to cut it a little and umm we'll make it a sort of Tsubasa-senpai style…"

"Why don't you look at yourself in a mirror? What's up with your hair? I mean pigtails? Who the hell wear pigtails apart from five year-olds? Don't you think you look a little childish? And that color? A crossing between blonde and brunette, is it a new type of dye called blondette or bruonde?" he starts pulling one of her pigtails, accidentally undoing it, letting half of her hair fall on her shoulder.

"AH! Now look what you did! -_Sigh- _I don't have time to do them again now, geez…" she undoes the other pigtail letting the rest of her long 'blondette' hair fall down. "It's such a bother… I'll tie it in a ponytail later." She drops the ribbons on the table.

"You know, I think it looks… stunning…" he says brushing one of his hands over his now messy hair.

"Yeah right; and when I start saying thank you or something you'll just say '_I didn't mean it as a compliment you know?'_ I'm not falling for that one again!" she says sticking her tongue out.

"No actually, I really DO mean it as a compliment this time…" he answers plainly.

"Oh… Thank you… I guess…" she says looking away "Anyway!" she shakes her head and looks at him again "Now… what's with the Harry Potter glasses?" she makes circles with her index fingers and thumbs and puts them over her eyes simulating glasses.

"You know people who can't see well have to wear glasses right?" he answers doing the same gesture she did and sticking his tongue out.

"Yeah, I know so? Have you ever heard of contact lens?" she extends her hands and takes his glasses away. "Okay let's see…" Mikan's eyes widen and a slight tint of blush forms on her cheeks, thankfully for her no one notices because she's giving her back to everyone except Natsume who's apparently as blind as a bat. "Um… I- umm… eh…" she starts mumbling incoherent things.

"What? What's wrong? Is it really that bad?" he asks squinting his eyes to be able to see her face better.

"I'm… no- no it's not that it's just…" '_Damn it Mikan focus!' _behind those thick glasses she saw two beautiful crimson orbs staring back at her, sparkling with the sunlight.

"It's just?" he repeats for her to finish what he had started saying.

"It's just that… your eyes… they are like… like fire." She finally says with a lot of effort.

"Oh… I'm… I know it's a family thing… Every male from my family has crimson eyes… weird huh?" he says looking away trying to hide his eyes.

"No, no… it's different." And realizing what she said isn't exactly encouraging, she extends her arm, grabs his head and forces him to look at her. "Umm… I mean it in a good way…" she says softly for the others not to hear and smiles a little (which he doesn't notice). They just stare at each other for a while. Mostly it's Mikan who stares because Natsume is… well, partially blind.

"Sakura we should get going, it's already ten o'clock…" when she hears Ruka's voice, she quickly pulls her hand away and returns his glasses to Natsume.

"Oh right! Sorry about that, seems it took longer than I thought… Go put your clothes back on, we're going…" she tells him and walks into her room. She approaches a mirror and stares at her reflection for a while. She grabs the sides of the mirror "What were you doing back there Mikan? What the hell happened to you?!" she snaps at her own reflection.

"Oi! Mikan let's go!" Tsubasa's voice takes her back to reality.

She picks up her purse "Coming!" she said as she opens the door.

* * *

**A/N:**Where are they going this time? Who knows? Well I hope you enjoyed it!

**To be continued…**


	4. Hide!

**A/N:** Yay! Chapter 4 already! Alrighty then, here goes… Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gakuen Alice...

**Chapter 4 Hide!**

**(Normal PoV)**

"Coming!" she say as she picks up her purse and rushes out of her room. "Sorry to keep you waiting… Shall we?" she walks to the door.

"Where are we going this time?" Natsume asks her with a confused look on his face.

"It's a surprise; you'll see when we get there…" she answers.

"As you must have noticed, I'm not really fond of surprises…" He says in an irritated tone.

"Stop complaining for a while, you're gonna have to go anyway so what difference does it make if you know or not?" Tsubasa says with the same tone Natsume used.

"I'm sorry I don't remember ever asking for your opinion, but I guess self-centered bastards like yourself feel like they have to be the center of attention all the time…" he answers glaring at the senior.

"What? You sure are a cocky brat treating your senpai like that… You seriously need to learn how to respect your elders, kid…" they both glare at each other and the atmosphere becomes tense.

"That's enough you guys, you should try to get along and…" Ruka starts saying but decides to shut up when both boys shoot him death glares and they shout at him in perfect unison "GIRLS SHOULDN'T BUTT INTO GUYS' DISCUSIONS RUKA!" The blonde boy sweat drops and quickly moves away from their sight.

* * *

**(Mikan's PoV)**

-_Sigh-_ if I didn't know better I'd think they'd already planned to do that. Honestly, they really look like brothers, if you take Natsume's glasses off and comb his hair differently, or if you put glasses on Tsubasa-senpai and… wait, if we don't hurry up we won't make it there in time… I'd better stop these kids already…

"Well you don't mind if _**I**_ butt in, now do you Kazume?" I say grinning at Natsume as if he was the only one wasting precious time. YES, I know his real name is Natsume, I get it already, how dumb do you think I am? But I can't let him think that I care enough to remember his real name… "We HAVE to go NOW, there's not a moment to lose…" I finally tell him.

"For the millionth time it's NA-TSU-ME! Geez you could at least TRY to remember…" he turns to look at me completely ignoring Tsubasa-senpai. "And I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what that important place we have to get to is…" such a bothersome kid, why can't he just spare us the drama and go with it?

"You don't seem to remember I have the upper hand here Polka-dots underpants boy…" Tsubasa-senpai starts laughing at the statement making Natsume blush. "Remember I told you that if you didn't cooperate we'd have to do it the hard way? Which is it gonna be this time?" I tell him as the other three approach him slowly.

Natsume looks at them nervously and turns to glare at me. If he didn't have those awful glasses on he'd probably have a scary face, but right now he just looks stupid. "Fine… But don't think this is gonna stay like this…" he's trying to threaten me? Ha! Please, you still have a very long way to go boy.

But instead of saying that I just walk to the door and say "Shall we then?" I don't want to waste anymore time, because when school's over and the students go out, what if they saw us hanging out with the Hyuuga kid? I mean, that would complete social murder-suicide for us!

When we're all in the car, I start the engine and head for the exit. I look at the clock, 10.33 a.m. Okay, school ends at half past four, we don't have much time, but I guess it'll have to do. I start speeding down the road not wanting to take too long on the drive. "Okay, you know we don't have all day, so we have to be quick and precise. Ruka-pyon you know what to do as soon as we arrive… You-chan you'll be helping him… Tsubasa-senpai will come with me and _Megane-kun _(A/N: Megane means glasses, it's like calling him four-eyes…) we'll meet at the exit at 1600 hours sharp, understood?" (A/N: In case you don't know military time, it's 4 p.m)

"Hai!" All of them, except Natsume answer. As we approach our destination, he finally notices where we were going as the mall comes into sight.

"Oh no… no, no, NO! A million times NO! I'm NOT going in there!" he says desperately pointing at the building.

"Come on, you've already come all the way here and now you say you don't wanna go in? Remember I can still force you so…"I try to reason with him, I don't want to make a scene when we enter and be noticed by everyone.

"I don't care what you do or what you say. I'm not going in there and that's FINAL!" he shouts that last word especially loud. -_Sigh-_ and I thought this was gonna be an easy task, but this guy sure has some nerve… I thought he was just a dumb silent kid who would do as I say without questioning…

Well, at least it's more fun this way… I look at him from the corner of my eye and a barely noticeable smile forms in my lips. "Fine, be like that then…" I answer coldly erasing the smile from my face.

"Huh? Does that mean I don't have to go?" he asks pretty confused. How naïve…

"Eh? I never said that…" I say as I park the car near the entrance. "You're going in, no matter how much you complain about it…" I get out of the car followed by everyone except Natsume. -_Sigh-_ I look at my watch, 11:01 a.m. No time to waste… I guess it's gonna have to be the hard way then.

With a snap of my fingers Tsubasa-senpai walks to Natsume's door and opens it quickly and pulls him out of the car.

* * *

**(Natsume's PoV)**

"LET GO OFF ME YOU BASTARDS!!!" I shout while I struggle to force Youichi and Andou to set me free. Ruka and Mikan walking at a faster pace not wanting to be seen with us. "If you don't put me down now I swear I'll-." Youichi slaps my face with his left hand and when he pulls it away I notice tape covering my mouth preventing me from shouting.

"You are too loud…" that was the first time I actually heard him talk, his face still unchanged. That stupid Andou starts laughing.

"Hahaha for you to force Youichi to speak, you sure are annoying…" he says, his words drowned in his laughter.

"Ahm- gohmphna phkhng ill iuph" Damn it that didn't come out as I expected. What I meant to say was I'm gonna fucking kill you...

"I'll leave the clothes shopping to you then Ruka-pyon. I'm sorry but You-chan will have to stay with me…" Mikan tells Ruka.

"Yeah, it's alright, I'll manage on my own…" he answers smiling at her. Clothes shopping, who the hell is gonna pay for that? I want to ask but tape is still covering my mouth. I look at the grey-haired boy who's still dragging me around the mall, I decide to stop struggling seeing how pointless it is… After a while of being quiet, Youichi looks at me from the corner of his eyes, not turning his head.

"Are you going to stop your annoying screams?" he asks monotonously. I answer with a nod, not being able to talk. He quickly removes the tape from my mouth making me wince.

"So who's gonna pay for all of this anyway?" I ask to no one in particular.

Mikan turns to look at me and smirks. Did she hear what I just said? I thought she wouldn't be able to considering the distance. She starts digging for something inside her purse and takes out a couple of credit cards. "Visa and MasterCard, who else?" she answers in a matter-of-factly tone. I drop my head and sigh loudly.

"Honestly, why do you guys do what she tells you? Normally leaders have higher IQs than their followers, not the other way around…" I say really low only for the two holding me to listen.

"I HEARD THAT KAZUME! And if you don't want everyone at school to know about your polka-dots you'd better shut it!" she yells at me.

You know how they say that when you can't use one of your senses the others become sharper? I think that since she can't use her brain all her five senses became sharper to make up for her lack of intelligence… Is any of this making any sense to you?

"Okay so this is where we go our separate ways. Remember 1600 hours sharp Ruka-pyon..." she says finally stopping in front of us.

"Hai!" he answers and walks away.

"Umm I've been wondering for a while but… Am I not supposed to try on the clothes BEFORE you buy them? I mean what if they don't fit me or I don't like them?" Anyone would have thought the same in my place right? I mean it IS weird…

"I trust Ruka-pyon's judgment completely, he didn't win the best-dressed award last year for nothing; you'll be trying them on when we get back to my house, we don't have time for that right now; and nobody really cares if you like the clothes or not, you have as much sense of fashion as a spoon, so you don't have a say in this…" she answers with a smirk on her face, or is she actually smiling?

"_**I**_ don't get to decide what _**I**_ am going to wear?! That doesn't make any sense!" Well, it doesn't!

"You know if you were gonna complain so much you shouldn't have come to me for help in the first place!" she says half laughing, trying to pretend to be annoyed.

"WHAT?!?!" I shout "I DID NOT GO TO YOU FOR HELP! IT WAS YOU WHO-." -_Slap-_ I turn again to look at Youichi who again covers my mouth with tape "- CHEIM TU NI PHOR ELLPH!!" I lower my head. I doubt any of them got that last part…

"You are too loud…" he says again. What does he have like only two lines he can say?

"It's the same thing Kazume, you don't have to get caught up with semantics…" she says laughing and waving a hand in front of her face. She probably told them all of this was my idea… They must think I'm pretty pathetic. She said they gladly agreed to help, but I'm starting to wonder what she actually told them for them to agree...

We continue walking for a while, and suddenly Mikan stops dead in her tracks. She turns around quickly and pulls Andou away from me. Her face looks like she has seen a ghost. She points to the side and starts talking really fast.

"Quickly you two, go hide over there for a while. I'll go tell you when it's safe to come out..." she says and starts pushing us towards one of those stores that sell baby stuff. She grabs Andou's arm and walks away.

Youichi sits on a small chair, he isn't bothered at all by all of this, or at least his face doesn't show it… I remove the tape from my mouth again and look at him.

"What was that all about?!" I ask. He looks at me, he's face unchanged as always; his lips part as if he were about to say something… He's actually gonna speak directly to me, I turn to face him expecting an answer but then he just sighs, leans backwards on the chair and closes his eyes. I should have known it was useless to ask this guy…

Not being able to stand the wait anymore I start walking outside to look around for Mikan and Andou.

"You shouldn't do that…" Youichi says not moving from his position.

"I'm not gonna obey her orders like you are…" I answer and leave the store.

I scan the place quickly to see where they are. When I finally spot them she turns to stare at me with the infamous I'm-gonna-kill-you look in her eyes. That's when I notice the other three people standing there with her and Andou. I didn't really bother to stare enough to find out who they were.

And then it suddenly hits me, why she wanted us to hide, or more like wanted _ME _to hide…

Have you ever gotten that feeling that nobody wants you around and that you are an embarrassment to those who surround you? If you haven't I hope you never do… Although I have, many times, felt that dreadful knot in my stomach I always ignored it. But this time it was different for some reason.

I guess it's because no one ever actually asked me to hide before.

I guess it was the fact that she came right out and told me purposefully to hide so that she wouldn't be seen with me.

I guess after all I really am a freak who doesn't deserve to any have friends ever.

To hell with this stupid make-over crap! I'm not gonna stand here and be humiliated over and over again by Miss. Bitch, let her find another monkey to teach her math.

"Hey! Isn't that the Hyuuga freak?" one of them asks.

"Yeah, what is he doing here? I thought nerds never skipped class!" another voice answers.

Not wanting to stick around anymore I turn around and walk away.

I wonder if my face gave anything up, cause for a second there I thought to see Mikan's expression softening and looking at me with sorry eyes. That can't be right; it probably was just my imagination. Maybe I just wanted her to look at me like that for a while… To at least have the hope that someone cares about me a little bit… even if it is just a little.

When I finally exit the building I notice that grey clouds are covering the sky. I can't even go back home, I'm supposed to be at school, or a trip with Ruka or something… Anyway I don't even feel like returning right now…

I start walk over to a nearby park and lie down on the grass. '_Even if it was just a little bit, it would be nice to have someone that cared…' _I think… '_Is that too much to ask for?'_

_

* * *

_

**A/N: **I hope you liked this chappie, I know it didn't end really nice, and it probably wasn't much fun. I really appreciate all of your nice reviews!

**To be continued…**


	5. And Seek!

**A/N:** Okay, I know many of you were expecting the makeover in the previous chapter, but I don't like rushing things, it doesn't feel right if it everything suddenly just happens in a flash. And if I did in fact rush everything, then the story would be over in no time. Anyway enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** For the millionth time I don't own Gakuen Alice… If you already get it then back off!

**Chapter 5 And Seek!**

**(Mikan's PoV) **(A/N: This is the moment when she tells Natsume to hide)

"It's the same thing Kazume; you don't have to get caught up with semantics…" I tell him as I laugh and keep on walking. After a couple of minutes I notice some kids from school, but not just any kids, it's Hotaru! And two other unimportant people I don't really know. What is she doing here?! She skipped class? WHY!?

I have to do something quick, or they'll see Natsume with us! Not only will my plan be ruined, but my reputation too! I stop abruptly in front of Tsubasa-senpai and pull him away from Natsume.

"Quickly you two, go hide over there for a while. I'll tell you when it's safe to come out…" I say as I push him and You-chan to some random store. Grabbing Tsubasa-senpai by the arm I go on walking as if I hadn't noticed them.

"Mikan?" I hear Hotaru say. "What are you doing here?" she continues in her plain voice.

"Ah! Hotaru! How strange to see you here! Shouldn't you be at school?" I say trying to divert the attention away from me.

"Don't try to turn the tables here, I asked you first…" damn I forgot she can always tell what I'm thinking…

"Hehe I came here with Tsubasa-senpai…" I giggle turning to look at him asking him to play along. When he understands my unsaid request he smirks and nods. "How about you Hotaru, why are _you_ here?" I ask again, I really want to know, it makes me so curious.

"Party supplies-." she just answers plainly.

"Party supplies? What do you mean?" Tsubasa-senpai asks confused "There's a party and I wasn't told about it?" this time he sounds rather mad.

"No one was told about it yet…" she tells him very irritated, she really hates being interrupted when she's talking. "Mochu's parents will be out of town for the weekend, he just found out about it yesterday, so we're throwing a party at his place…"

"Parent-free party, when?" he asks.

"Tonight probably… If we get all the stuff we need…" she answers plainly.

"TONIGHT!?" If we want to bring Natsume that doesn't leave as much time for the make-over… If it is tomorrow and we hurry up we _COULD_ make it in time… If I make up an excuse maybe… "Tonight is no good; I have dinner with my grandma. I don't wanna miss a parent-free party! Besides it's not a party if I'm not there right?" I say laughing a bit. Hotaru just sighs and slowly shakes her head. She hates it when I act like Miss. Popularity.

"It can be arranged…" she says coldly. As soon as she finishes saying that, Natsume comes out of the store; I'm the one who notices first. I glare at him as if saying "I'm gonna kill you if you don't go back in there right now…" hoping that he'll get the message and leave before someone sees him but… too late. They all turn around and look at him.

"Hey! Isn't that the Hyuuga freak?" one of them says surprised.

"Yeah, what is he doing here? I thought nerds never skipped class!" Mochu answers laughing.

Damn it why couldn't he just do what I told him for once? What am I gonna say now? He's gonna regret- huh? He's just walking away? I can feel a horrible knot in my stomach right now, what was that face he put before going? It makes me feel so weird… I feel like I want to apologize but… why? I didn't do anything wrong! Besides I can't run off to chase him! It will look really bad… They just keep talking about whatever; I'm not really listening… while I just stare at the exit, that dreadful feeling not leaving me… what's wrong with me?

Hotaru looks at me for a while; I can feel her cold eyes staring at me at any time. Then after a while You-chan leaves the store and walks out of the mall. Perfect chance, I'll just go with him.

"You-chan, wait!" I shout at him and run after him "Sorry you guys I'll be back later… There's something I wanna talk about with You-chan." I lie, Hotaru looks at me disbelievingly, she probably noticed I was lying; I don't care at this point.

When I go outside he's already gone… I walk over to car. It seems it's about to rain… I get into the car and start the engine. I don't really know where I'm headed, not that it matters either.

* * *

**(Natsume's PoV) **(A/N: Now yes, back to where I left off last time.)

I close my eyes and put my hands behind my head as a sort of pillow. Maybe a little nap will help to clear my head. I sigh as I hear footsteps approaching me and stopping right behind me. -_Thud-_ something falls on my stomach, and rolls onto the floor next to me. I feel the ground around me with my hand and finally pick up a can. I slightly open my eyes to see what it is, Coke, figures…

I sit up not even turning to look at the person behind me. No need to anyway, I already know who it is…

"I know what you're gonna say, so there's no need for you to say it…" I say angrily as I open the can.

"But I want to, and you can't stop me from saying it…" -_slurp-_ I hear from behind me. "I told you shouldn't go out, honestly you should learn to listen to what people tell you…"

"I get it already! Geez… When did you become so eloquent anyway?" I ask and drink some of the can's contents.

"I only speak when it's absolutely necessary or when I feel like it…" Youichi sits next to me with his usual emotionless face and looks forward, never looking at me.

"So which is it now? I don't really think it's absolutely necessary to speak to me, not now, not ever apparently. And I doubt you feel like talking to _ME_ out of all people…" I answer half laughing sarcastically half serious.

"What makes you think I don't want to talk to you?" he answers without even moving a finger. Well that's a surprise…

"What, are you gonna tell me you came all the way here just because you wanted to talk to me when you can go and talk to anyone else in the world?" I retort.

"I never said that… I just asked why you thought I wouldn't want to talk with you." Now it's _WITH _me?

We just stay silent for a while. This kid, what is he doing here anyway? Did she send him to talk to me not wanting to come herself for fear of being seen with me?

"So?" he says after a while. "Why?"

"Well you're not a guy of many words, so for you to waste your breath and time talking to _me_ isn't really…" Do I really need to spell it out for him? He doesn't seem to be dumb not to understand our different social standings… Noticing how he doesn't even blink I continue speaking "Anyway you just said you didn't come here to talk because you want to, so you did because it's absolutely necessary right? Did she tell you to come here?"

"No…"

"Then why did you? It can't really be that you care about me so… why?"

"I just felt like it…" and he sips his drink again "You know she's not-." He cuts himself in mid sentence when suddenly it starts to rain. He gets up and says "It's raining…" What an excellent observation Einstein. "I hate getting wet…" he walks away. Good bye to you too…

I don't really mind the rain, so I just stay there drinking my coke. I hear footsteps approaching me from behind again, and I sigh and close my eyes again.

"I thought you said you didn't like getting wet…"I get an 'Hmph' as an answer, and I can't feel the rain falling on me anymore. Wait a sec that voice just now didn't sound like a guy… I look up and see an arm holding an umbrella over my head. When I turn around I see Mikan her head slightly tilted upwards, eyes closed.

"Well… aren't you gonna take it? I'm not holding it forever…" she says in an irritated tone.

"Go away…" is the only thing I answer.

"Oh please don't give me the tough guy attitude and take the damn umbrella…" when she notices I'm not about to do what she tells me she sighs and continues "I'm trying to be nice over here, just take it, don't make things harder for me…" again she's using the trying to be nice speech…

"Yeah sure… you were trying to be nice, especially when you told me to hide from your friends; that was really nice…" I answer turning back my head not to look at her.

"Ah… that was… It's just umm…" I knew she didn't have an answer for that.

"You were embarrassed to be seen with me… I don't blame you, everyone is… Though I have to admit you really know how to hit someone where it really hurts…"

"I didn't mean to, besides Hotaru was there and if she saw you the whole plan would be ruined I didn't do it just for me!" lies… Of course she did it for herself. "Now would you take the umbrella? My arm is going numb…" She sighs again and drops the umbrella on the floor. "Fine… Do what you want…" she says and sits on the floor next to me.

"Aren't you afraid the rain might ruin your clothes or something?" girls like her worry about that kind of stuff right?

"I told you not to speak like you know everything when you really don't understand a thing, didn't I?" and she sighs again "Why do you hate me so much? Do you really think I'm just another airheaded girl?" Well she's proved to be more than once…

"Yeah well… If you really wanna hear the answer to that..." she lowers her head covering her face with her hair. What's wrong with her? Did I say something wrong? "Actually I-." I never really finished what I was about to say cause she cut me off.

"I'm sorry…"

SHE'S WHAT!? Did I just hear that right? Was it not my imagination? My eyes widen and my lips part, I want to say something but… I hadn't really planned anything to answer to that…

I have to say something… I must look really stupid just staring with my mouth open… I really never expected her to leave me speechless.

"I-." Damn I really don't know what to say…

"I'm not always like that, but I really worked hard to get to where I'm now… I don't want my reputation to be ruined. I know it's selfish and stupid but… You know what it feels like to be left out of everything, I don't want that anymore!" What does she mean with anymore?

"You mean you-?" Sakura Mikan a.k.a Miss. Popularity, she was… like… me? She starts laughing and waving her hand in front of her face.

"Never mind, forget it, I said too much…" she suddenly stops laughing and looks at her hands when she notices the sort of concerned look on my face. A tiny sad smile forms on her lips "Just don't tell anyone I ever said that… I…" she looks at me in the eyes and grabs one of my hands "I promise you won't have to deal with that sort of stuff anymore. It's not only for the sake of our deal anymore, now it's personal…" she says and stands up still holding my hand.

She helps me get up. Both of us are soaked by the rain but it doesn't really seem to matter to her. I pick up the umbrella and put it over our heads and she smiles at me, an honest beautiful smile. Well she's rather cute when she's not acting like a bitch I gotta admit it.

"What?" she asks me after a while. Crap, I must have been staring again; I have to stop doing that, it's a really bad habit. "Is there something funny about my face?" she asks confused.

I can't help but smile at the question, thankfully she didn't notice. "I was just thinking… you... maybe you're not what I thought you were…"well it is true…

"Yeah well you shouldn't judge a book by its cover…" and she smiles again, I can feel my face heating up a bit. She looks at me for a while and suddenly looks away and quickly drops my hand. I smile at her reaction, and then notice she's shivering and hugging herself to warm up. I sigh and drop the umbrella, the rain has already stopped anyway. I take off my jacket and wrap it around her shoulders. She looks at me with a puzzled look, my hands still holding the jacket around her.

"You'll catch a cold…" she smiles again and my glasses become foggy. She extends a hand and takes them away.

"Wha-! I can't see anything now! Give them back!" she starts laughing and I can't help but smile.

"Well you couldn't very well see with them anyway…" she pauses for a while and then continues "You look better like that…"

"What without the glasses?" I know it's a stupid question but I don't want to keep quiet, it makes me look stupid.

"No... I mean when you smile…" She says putting my glasses back on, seems she cleaned them cause now I can see.

"Oh… Umm…" This is the second time she leaves me speechless… How does she keep doing that? "I guess you too…" I finally say… She laughs again and turns around.

"Look! It's a rainbow!" she says pointing towards the sky "Make a wish!" does she really believe in that kind of stuff? She closes her eyes and says "I wish everything works out for the best for you…" a small gentle smile forms on her lips. The horrible knot in my stomach suddenly banishes as if it had never been there. One of my hands moves unconsciously from her shoulder (I was still holding the jacket around her after all) and is about to touch her cheek but I regain self-consciousness in the last second and make it land on her hair.

"I wish that you're able to pass math…" and then she sneezes, I smile and say "And that you don't catch a cold…" we both start laughing. And then we both suddenly realize the weird way we've been standing all this time. I quickly let go off the jacket and put a hand on the back on my head and laugh nervously.

"We must look pretty dumb right now, hehe…" she says and starts playing with her index fingers. Silence surrounds us for a while, I hate silence. So I need to break it.

"So… why did you come all the way here anyway?" Is she just bluffing so that I don't break off the deal?

"I don't really know. When you took off I just felt this knot in my stomach and came after you…" she puts one of her hands on her belly and sighs sort of relieved. "Seems it is gone now thank god…" and she smiles again. She felt guilty? Is that why she came? "Anyway we should probably head back… Ruka-pyon must be done with the clothes already… I left Tsubasa-senpai with Hotaru… I hope he's alright… And I don't really know where You-chan is…" Now that she mentions it I don't either…

"You're probably right…" we start walking towards her car when she accidentally drops the jacket on the floor. I bend over to pick it up and my hand meets hers. I quickly retreat it just a bit and turn my head to look at her, our eyes meet when and I become aware of the fact that her face is barely an inch or so away from mine.

We both just stare at each other for what seems like an hour; maybe it was more like a second… I can feel heat coming back to my cheeks as I notice the tint of red on her face. Her lips slowly part and my heart starts pounding inside my chest. I want to say something. I have to say something I can't bear the silence.

"Um…" with just that I swear she made my heart skip a beat. "Nat-."

"Oi Mikan! I saw your car so you must be around here! Mikan are you here?!" When we hear Andou's voice shouting we both stand up quickly, she picks up the jacket and looks for the source of the screams.

"Over here Tsubasa-senpai!" she shouts and waves her hand in the air when she sees Andou and Youichi looking for her. "Let's go…" she says as she grabs my arm and drags me over to them, smiling. I just sigh and let her drag me along.

"What were you doing here? You're all wet…" Andou says to Mikan. She just giggles and apologizes for suddenly disappearing. I look at Youichi who is staring back at me, an eyebrow raised, and something caught between a smirk and a smile plastered on his face...

As we're walking to the car he stays a little behind and walks along with me and in a very low voice, so low I almost didn't catch what he said, he tells me "Aren't you glad I left?" And then he goes back to walking at Mikan's and Andou's speed leaving me behind, wide eyed and probably mouth agape staring into nothingness… Note to self, stop doing that! It was that stupid face that got me into this mess in the first place!

After a while of walking like that she spins her head and looks at me from over her shoulder, and I start replaying what happened a while ago. Now that I look back on it… was she… about to… call me by my real name!? When I remember that my eyes widen even more and my jaw drops. Noticing this she starts laughing, and there it is again the weird in my stomach, but this time it's different. It's not bad, it's rather nice… It's like umm… I don't know how to explain it… It's sort of warm… like thousands of butterflies flapping at the same time…

I just decide to ignore it like I always do; maybe I'm getting a fever from standing under the rain. Yeah that's gotta be it.

* * *

**A/N:** Okay chapter 5 is up to there or it'll be too long. I am deeply sorry I didn't continue with the make-over, but if I did the chapter would turn out too long.

I wanna thank everyone who reviews and adds this story to their favorite or alert list… and everyone who adds me as favorite author or author alert list. I'm really glad you like my fic it makes me really happy to read your reviews.

I'll upload the next chapter as soon as I can. I hope you enjoyed this one!

**To be continued…**


	6. Mikan and Minako

**A/N:** Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:**You already know the drill; I don't own blah, blah, blah…

**Chapter 6 Mikan and Minako**

**(Normal PoV)**

"ACHOO!" Mikan sneezes. "This is all your fault! Why did you have to stand under the rain!?" she says lying down on her bed.

"Why is any of this my fault? I told you to leave; it's you who was too stubborn to listen to me!" he says holding up a spoon full of soup in front of her face "Now drink, it'll make you feel better."

"There's no way I'm drinking THAT" she says pointing at the bowl full of steaming green liquid on the table. "It's green! And it smells like puke..."

"You don't have a choice; it's either this or starving to death… And besides don't you wanna feel better for the party tomorrow?" he says gesturing for her to open her mouth.

"Not if it means having to drink THAT. Who made it anyway? Not any of my chefs I suppose… I'd have to fire him otherwise…"

"I did, my grandma used to make it for me when I was sick… And trust me it doesn't taste half as bad as it looks…" she looks at him with a disbelieving look.

"Hmm… I don't know… does it really work? I mean I don-." He stuffs a spoonful of soup into her mouth. "HEY! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" After a while of tasting it her expression softens "Well… It's not THAT bad… I guess it's okay…" they just sit there in silence for a while, the only thing that can be heard is the clock ticking, it marks 2:32 a.m. "So… why are you here anyway? You should be sleeping like the others…" she says trying to break the ice.

"Well I couldn't leave you here all alone when you're sick now could I?" he says handing another spoon soup to her. She stops it in midair and continues.

"It's just a cold… I'm alright, you don't have to worry about me…" she says turning her gaze away from his.

"Even if it is just a cold, I can't just leave a sick person like that…" he answers putting down the spoon into the bowl.

"I told you I'm fine, you should go before I infect you too."

"Hmm… I think I'll take my chances… Now don't be stubborn and drink the soup before it gets cold." He says passing her the bowl.

"I told you, don't worry I'll be fine, I'll drink the soup and go to sleep, so you don't have to stay here…"

"Why can't you just relax and let me take care of you? Why can't you stop trying to act tough? Just for tonight stop trying to be the bitchy Minako and be the real Mikan for a change… I swear I won't tell anyone…"

"But… you really don't have to do all of this… why do you bother so much to help me?"

"Umm… I don't know, aren't friends supposed to look after each other?" Mikan's eyes widen '_did he just say we were friends?'_

"I thought you hated me…" she says doing her best not to face him.

"Correction, I hate Minako, not Mikan…" he answers matter-of-factly

"So that means you still do hate me! Then you have no business here go away!" she says and covers her head with a blanket.

He gently grabs it and pulls it away from her face. "I hate having to repeat myself so I'm gonna say this only once more and listen carefully. I said I hate Minako, NOT Mikan." She looks at him from the corner of her eyes and covers up to her nose with the blanket, leaving only her eyes outside to look at him.

"But Minako and Mikan is the same person, me…" she says in a shy tone.

"That's where you're wrong. Mikan and Minako are two completely different beings. I bet you remember when I first called you Minako…" he pauses and waits for her response.

"Yeah…" she answers "The other day at school when I called you Kazume…"

"Exactly… But then again I just called you Mikan at least three times, why do you think that is?" she blinks, not really understanding what his point is. Noticing her confusion he sighs "I guess the being dense part is not an act…"

"Well you're not making any sense! I am Mikan and you refer to me as Minako, so when you say you hate Minako that means you hate me! What difference does it make if you just started calling me Mik- Oh…" Apparently she had to say it out loud to be able to bring the pieces of the puzzle together.

"Do you understand what I mean now?" he asks picking up the bowl of now cold soup.

"I think you and Hotaru would make a nice couple…" she says

"Oh…" he turns his gaze away from hers "Why would you say that?" he finally asks. He knew he should've been glad to hear that, but for some reason he wasn't.

"Well you two think alike… Did you know that it was actually Hotaru who started the whole Miss. Popularity deal? She said that she and Mikan weren't the same person and that she didn't want to be acquainted with Miss. Popularity cause she had killed the old Mikan and said she was gonna stick with me to see if she could revive Mikan somehow…" she answers looking down letting out a sad chuckle.

"Well she's partly right… Although I don't think the "old" Mikan is dead, she was just locked up by the evil Minako…" he pauses to test her reaction (or lack of in this case) and decides to carry on seeing how she won't respond.

"It's like Minako is Mikan's clone right? But no one really knows about Minako's existence. Every day she keeps an eye on Mikan to check that she's okay, but then she notices that everyone is mean to her. So one day she decides to lock Mikan up in the highest tower in a castle at the cold peak of the highest mountain far away from everything so that no one can ever reach her and hurt her ever again, taking her place so that no one notices Mikan's missing…" Mikan smiles and cuts him off before he continues his story.

"That's just a fairy tale taken from some book…" she says plainly.

"No, no, let me finish, it gets better I promise…" he says and continues talking "And just in case someone dares to venture himself into those terrible blizzards and reach the dark castle… Minako leaves the castle guarded by a scary and ugly monster called… Umm…"

"How about "Fluffy"?" she says giggling.

"No, that's not a scary name… and besides you're not getting the whole point of the story at all…" he says rather annoyed by the fact that she isn't paying attention at the "story" he's telling her at all…

"What do you mean the WHOLE point of the story?" she asks confused.

"Anyway the name of the monster is "Bitchy"…"

"That's not scary either…" she says frowning…

"It doesn't matter… Now, if you could only pay a little more attention to what I'm saying…" he sighs

"Legend has it that one day a very strong willed, handsome prince will come to rescue Mikan from the tower, he will venture himself through the terrible blizzards, into the dark and cold castle, fight and the defeat the evil monster…" she interrupts him again.

"So what's the name of the mysterious prince?" she asks yawning.

"Well… That's for you to find out…" he answers smiling. "Can I carry on with the story now?" she nods and he continues talking.

"And so after going through all those hardships he will finally reach the top of the tower and enter a bright warm room, where he will find the long lost Mikan and as a reward for being able to go through all of those trials (thus earning Mikan's trust and making Minako disappear for ever) she will grant him a beautiful, honest and loving smile… And they'll live happily ever after… The end..."

When he notices Mikan's eyes are closed and that she fell asleep he smiles and pulls the covers from her side up to her shoulders. "_Sweet dreams Mikan_…" he whispers gently into her ear and leaves the room quietly so as not to wake her up.

Mikan blushes a little and smiles. '_A handsome, strong-willed prince huh?' _she thinks before dozing off to sleep.

Natsume sits down on the couch, not really wanting to go to bed. He stares at the ticking clock on the wall. 2:53 a.m. It had been a really long day, a lot of things had happened, he should be tired, but he wasn't. He just keeps reliving the whole day again and again inside his head.

Let's sneak a peek shall we?

* * *

**(Natsume's PoV)**

And I thought my nightmare day was gonna be over when we picked up Ruka from the mall. I couldn't have been more wrong. After we were done there they dragged me all the way to the oculist and made me take an eye test. My sight is far worse than I thought it was.

So the oculist dude said my contact lens would be ready quickly as a personal favor to Mikan because her dad is I-don't-know-who and did I-don't-know-what for him. You know, that stuff takes time right? So I thought I wouldn't have them for like a long time, again I was wrong. I heard they would be done by tomorrow or something…

I was dragged around the whole city (blindly cause they never returned my glasses to me, she said that way I wouldn't be able to complain as much) Then we entered some place and they sat me down on a sort of weird chair, someone came from behind me and made me pull my head backwards and started wetting my hair and… well it was pretty obvious where I was at that point.

They moved me to another chair and I could hear the sound of scissors and I felt strands of hair falling off my head. I could hear Andou saying "Don't make him look like my clone!" and Ruka saying stuff like "Yeah I think it would look better like blah, blah…" I don't even know if Youichi was there or not… and as soon as the scissors stopped moving I heard Mikan saying "This is all wrong! We're gonna have to shave it all and buy a wig!"

My eyes widened and my jaw dropped I started feeling my head with both my hands nervously. I was seriously starting to panic when I felt a hand on my shoulder and I heard Mikan laughing.

"Just kidding… it looks descent…" she said in a mocking tone. I guess she went back to Minako-mode now that her friends were watching her. Two people grabbed my arms and pulled me out of the building. I heard the car's door opening and they threw me inside. They all got on and, I guess it was Mikan who drove because she had been the one driving up till now…

We went back to her "room" and one of them had the courtesy to hand me my glasses. Mikan placed eight bags in front of me. "Each one has a different outfit for every day of the week" she explained. I counted them again to check if I hadn't miss counted and there were seven… But there were eight bags, not seven.

"Umm… You know that there are seven days per week right?" I asked confused.

"Oh right!" For a second there I really thought she didn't, until she went on talking. "The eighth one is the outfit you'll be wearing for the party tomorrow night!" she said with a mischievous smile on her face. "Now, go on and put this on…" she said handing me one of the bags and pushing me into the bathroom.

I locked the door to prevent anyone from coming in and decided to take a shower to clear my mind a bit. I was done pretty fast and was about to change into the clothes she'd given me when I heard banging at the door.

"HURRY UP! What's taking you so long?! It's not like you had to make the clothes yourself!" she shouted. I chose to ignore her and started getting dressed. They were pretty normal clothes, just a plain pair of jeans, a bit tighter than my normal ones, a plain black button-up shirt, matching black shoes and a brown jacket. I buttoned the shirt all the way up, carried the jacket over my shoulder and went out of the bathroom.

When Mikan saw me she frowned, and walked up to me. "Really, I give you perfectly normal clothes and you manage to turn them into nerdy clothes…" she said annoyed and unbuttoned the first three buttons of the shirt. "Put the jacket on…" she commanded. I sighed and obliged… When I was done she walked a few steps back, nodded a couple of times and a smile spread through her face. "Great, now we just have to get the contact lens and maybe we could pierce your ears and…" Whoa what?

"I'm not piercing my ears…" I said bluntly.

"But you need a trade mark! I mean look around you! Tsubasa-senpai has the cool star tattoo on his cheek… Ruka-pyon has the childlike angelic face, and You-chan has the cold emotionless attitude! You need to have something to set you apart… I was thinking you could be the tough troublemaker, pierced ears would really give you-."

"I am NOT piercing my ears…" I repeated angrily.

"But…" she said making the puppy eyes.

"NO!" I said once again. She sneezed and frowned.

"Whatever I don't feel like arguing anymore… I'm going to bed…" she went into her room and slammed the door behind her.

She didn't feel like arguing? When did she not feel like arguing? Ruka and Andou looked at each other puzzled, probably wondering the same thing I was. Youichi looked at me with his usual face, although for some reason I felt like I could understand what he meant.

It was already midnight so everyone else decided to go to sleep. I stayed up and decided to make her the soup my grandma used to give me when I was sick. I guess I felt like I had to sort of apologize considering it was partly my fault she caught a cold.

It took me like an hour or so to make it, I couldn't find my way around her kitchen, though I guessed she couldn't either, she probably never used it in her life. When I was finally done it was almost two in the morning and I was wondering whether she was still awake.

I decided to go into the room anyway. And found her lying on the bed with the lights on, still awake.

* * *

**(Normal PoV)**

Natsume's eyelids start to close slowly and he falls asleep on the couch, his head resting on his hand.

In the morning Mikan is the first one to wake up. She goes out of the house and comes back a couple of hours later. She looks around to check if everyone is still asleep. When she confirms it she goes ahead and wakes Natsume up shaking him brusquely.

"Wake up! It's morning already and I brought you a present…" she says lowly not wanting to wake up the others. Natsume yawns and takes off his glasses; he rubs his eyes and puts them back on.

"I see you're feeling better…" he says still half asleep. She hands him two little boxes.

"Open them!" she says excitedly. Not feeling up to put up a fight he does as she says and opens the first box.

"I thought I said I wasn't gonna pierce my ears…" he says in a bored tone looking at the contents of the box. (A/N: Imagine the same types of earrings he wears in the anime and manga…)

"Don't worry, they aren't real… You don't have to pierce anything… Don't tell anyone though; it would ruin the illusion…" she says and takes them away from him and starts putting them on his ears. "There, looks good enough…" she says smiling.

"So I guess the other box is…" he opens it "Figures…" he takes out a little plastic container with the contact lens in it.

"So? Put them on!" she says smiling. He walks over to the bathroom and locks the door. He's still wearing the clothes from the night before but his hair looks messier. He combs it a little, but not too much or Mikan wasn't gonna stop babbling about him looking nerdy. He takes off his glasses and with a lot of effort manages to put on the contact lens.

He blinks a couple of times to focus his sight and when he finally gets a clear image of his reflection in the mirror his jaw drops to the floor and his eyes widen so much that they seem to be about to pop out of his head. His lips tremble and he rises both of his hands and starts feeling his face with his fingers, not recognizing the person in the mirror. When he's finally sure it is really him he tries to calm himself down and gets out of the bathroom…

* * *

**A/N:** Oh yes! I'm finishing chapter 6 here! Muahaha -_evil laughter-_ what will be Mikan's reaction if even Natsume himself couldn't believe the change? What are the others gonna say? What will happen when they go to the party? Will the rest of the Alice Gakuen student body accept the "new" Natsume?

Anyway I really hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Read and review please! I love reading your reviews. Look forward to the next chapter!

**To be continued…**


	7. Kiss Me!

**A/N:** Honestly thank you very much for reviewing! Enjoy the chapter.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own blah, blah…

**Chapter 7 Kiss Me!**

**(Normal PoV)**

Taking in a deep breath, Natsume places his hand on the door knob and slowly turns it. With his eyes closed and still holding his breath he slightly pushes the door. He can feel his heart pounding inside his chest, he tries to let the air he's been holding out, but he finds himself completely unable to move, like a statue.

With all his might he manages to step one foot outside of the bathroom and finally opens the door all the way, exposing himself to anyone who might be in the living-room. He just stands there, silent, eyes closed, not moving a muscle and still holding his breath waiting for any type of sound or reaction from anyone.

He waits… but nothing ever comes, not a word, not a sound… He slowly opens his eyes after some time expecting to see Mikan frowning or holding back her laughter, but instead he finds her lying on the couch sleeping peacefully. He sighs, had he really taken so long in the bathroom?

He walks up to her and one of his hands starts approaching her sleeping figure. The corners of his lips curve slightly as his hand is about to reach her face. He just wanted to wake her up, that was it, or so he repeats inside of his head several times.

He is so lost in that thought he doesn't notice one of the rooms' door opening. Youichi comes out of the room and yawns stopping in mid-yawn when he notices Natsume there giving his back to him. He stealthily approaches him from behind and whispers in his monotonous voice "_What are you doing?"_

Natsume's eyes shoot open and his jaw drops, his whole body suddenly tightens and he goes back to statue-mode for a while. When he recovers from the shock he quickly retreats his hand and tries to explain. "I was ju-just trying to-." his voice coming out louder than he expected.

"_I would keep my voice down if I were you… You don't want her to wake up now do you?" _as soon as he finishes saying that sentence her eyelids start parting slowly. She yawns and stretches a little causing Natsume to freak out and jump backwards falling on his back to the floor, landing with a very loud -_thud-_

Mikan quickly sits up and looks at the source of the noise frowning. He sits on the floor and winces, thus closing his eyes, and rubs his back. Youichi rolls his eyes and sits down on a sofa. When she finally realizes what's going on, Mikan gets off the couch and helps Natsume stand up.

"What are you doing on the floor? Honestly you should-." She suddenly becomes silent when Natsume finally opens his eyes and looks at her. It's really hard to describe what she felt at that precise moment when his eyes met hers, considering she couldn't really think straight at that point. It was like time suddenly stopped, it felt exactly like the time she first took his glasses away from him, well that multiplied by ten. The problem is she can't smile or blush or do anything stupid now, because he can see her face clearly this time.

She was completely lost in his eyes for a second that felt like hours to her. She is completely hypnotized. Her body won't move while her mind will keep screaming '_DO SOMETHING, ANYTHING!'_ She can tell her eyes are wide open, and she's afraid that she is probably gaping but she can't move an inch. She can feel heat crawling onto her cheeks. '_Come on Mikan pull yourself together!'_ she mentally scolds herself.

Her left hand starts moving unconsciously, her fingers itching to touch his face to make sure it's not just a dream. Youichi takes this as his cue and coughs loudly, immediately bringing Mikan back to reality. She shakes her head and backs away a little. She looks at him again trying to avoid eye contact at all costs. '_It was just the shock of seeing him like this, that's all…'_ she tries to convince herself.

"Well…" she says after a while tapping her chin with her index finger. "I guess it COULD be worse…"

Natsume, who was obviously registering her every move didn't miss on anything, not her shocked face, not her moving hand, not even the slight tint of red that appeared for a full second on her cheeks. He realized she wanted to say something else, but obviously Minako wouldn't forgive her if she did.

But he didn't mind, even though they had only REALLY known each other for like two days, for some reason he could understand her completely without her having to do anything. He knew perfectly well what she really wanted to say, and he wasn't gonna push her to say it, he didn't need her to.

He smiles at her remark and shrugs. "I could say the same thing about you…" he answers chuckling.

"What's that supposed to mean Na- Kazume?" he raises an eyebrow and then frowns, making Mikan look away.

"Eh? What was that you were saying Mi-na-ko?" he asks with a serious face. She then remembers what he had told her the night before. So she WAS acting a LITTLE like Minako, but did he have to act so much like Hotaru? It was really disturbing.

"Nothing… Forget it… Geez I had more than enough with just one Hotaru-." -_Pick up baka it's me- _Hotaru's voice comes from Mikan's cell phone. "Speak of the devil…" she says.

Once again the special customized ringtone she had Hotaru record for her sounds -_Pick up baka it's me-_ she takes it out of her pocket -_Pick up baka it'-_(A/N: From here on it's just the phone call between Mikan and Hotaru, just so you don't get mixed up it's only Mikan speaking, each "_**pause**_" is when Hotaru answers something and so on…)

"Hotaru, how unusual for you to call me this early in the morning!" she answers smiling. "Yeah… they're here… I'll let them know…" she keeps quiet for a while, probably listening to the other girl talking.

"Got it… Oh! And Hotaru?" _**pause**_

"I have this friend I'd like to introduce to you…" _**pause**_

"Yeah, it's a guy…" _**pause**_

"I never said I wanted to hook you up with him now did I?" _**pause**_

"I am not!" _**pause**_

"Well if you got yourself a boyfriend maybe I shouldn't have to-." _**pause**_

"No, he's nothing like Sumire's brother…" _**pause**_

"I already apologized for that! Why can't you just let it go?" _**pause**_

"I'm not lying! I swear he's not a weirdo…" _**pause**_

"Oh come on! When have I ever lied to you?" _**pause**_

"Yeah well… but that was completely justified…" _**pause**_

"That one wasn't even my fault! He told me that-." _**pause**_

"Okay that may have not been the best idea I ever had, but still…" _**pause**_

"Well I'm not lying this time!"_**pause**_

"Well if you can't trust your own best friend then…" _**pause**_

"Perfect! I swear you're not gonna regret this!" _**pause**_

"I'll see you there then! Ja!" she smiles and hangs up. "That was tiring…" she says to no one in particular and drops herself on the couch.

"What was that all about?" Natsume asks confused.

"Oh… Tonight, 10 o'clock, Mochu's, tell the others…" she says trying to imitate Hotaru's monotonous voice. Natsume looks at her even more confused. She sighs and waves a hand in front of his face "Hello? Anybody there? Earth to Kazume do you copy?" she says mockingly "Seriously how can you forget about such an important matter? Your first public appearance… Mochu's parent-free-party… Ring any bells?"

"Oh right… that thing…" he says and suddenly Tsubasa storms out of his room.

"What time is it now? How much time do we have before the party? I gotta get back home and get ready… Every second counts I-."A much disoriented looking Tsubasa says.

"Tsubasa-senpai, it's only half past nine, we STILL have like twelve hours…" Mikan says trying to calm him.

"WHAT?! You mean we ONLY have twelve hours… I gotta get back home and-." He starts pacing around the room.

"But we have to finish getting Polka-dots here ready!" she says pointing at Natsume, he blushes and looks down to hide his face.

Tsubasa approaches him and looks at him up and down, not looking at all surprised by the change. "I think he can pass for a normal person..." he says bluntly. Natsume curls his hands into fists and growls "Tsk, Tsk…" Tsubasa says shaking his head slowly "You do NOT hit people no matter how annoying they are…" then he turns to look at Mikan and says "There, my task is done, now can I go home?" he asks bored.

Mikan sighs in defeat and answers "Fine… If you're gonna be like this all day it's better if you're not around at all…" Tsubasa smiles and goes into the room to wake up Ruka and before Mikan can object about anything the two of them are already walking out the front door with evil smirks plastered on their faces, dragging Youichi along with them. "AH! Why did he have to take the other two with him? I could've used the extra help…" she says pouting.

"It's not like there's anything else left to do is there? I have the clothes, the hair, the contact lens and the earrings… there's nothing else to do but wait..." he tells her.

"Yeah but you're gonna make your first appearance at a party, not at school, it makes everything so much difficult… I mean you need to know stuff like how to dance, how to talk casually to someone you don't know at all, how to kiss, what you can and can't do, what to drink…" she continues the never-ending list not minding Natsume, whose face is now red as a tomato and is trying not to look at her directly. "And then-. Are you even listening to me?" she says angrily finally looking at him.

"Eh? Wha-…? Of- of course I'm listening, I just umm got distracted that's all…" he says nervously avoiding her eyes as if his life depended on it. Mikan's eyes widen and a smirk finds its way to her lips when she realizes what's going on.

"You…" her smirks becomes even wider "You've never…" she starts walking closer to him until her nose is almost touching his. Natsume's face becomes even redder (if that's even possible) he feels as if all the blood in his body is on his cheeks. _"… kissed someone before_." She whispers. _"Have you?"_

He doesn't say anything after that, Mikan sighs and backs away. "Well… I guess we could omit some of the points of the list that aren't really that important and…" she just goes on talking placing her index finger on her lips and tapping them gently "But then again that's really important and…" he ignores most of her speech "Right so we don't have much time so it's gonna have to be a crash course…" she finally says.

"Crash course on what?!" he suddenly asks snapping out of his thoughts.

"Well, it is obvious isn't it? You know many girls say that they can learn everything they want to know about a guy from the first kiss? Now you don't want to make a bad first impression because you really can't change it afterwards…" Mikan answers calmly.

"Ah- I'm …" he doesn't really have anything to say.

"Don't worry, one has to learn somehow, and with our time limit this is the only way I can think of…" she says trying to make him relax a bit. "It's just a kiss it's not the end of the world for anyone!" she starts becoming annoyed by the fact that he doesn't even move.

"…" he's already back to statue-mode.

"Oh come on! Don't be such a baby; you're 16 years-old! Now would you behave accordingly!?" she says frowning.

"…" still no movement.

"It's not such a big deal! All you have to do is kiss me and then it'll all be over before you know it…" she's really starting to lose her patience.

"…" this time when she receives no response she snaps.

"Kazume this is your last warning, now kiss me…" she says very pissed.

"…" no answer _'That does it!'_ she suddenly puts her hands on either of his cheeks and pulls his face down and locks her lips on his. She still receives no response from him; she tries to slide her tongue into his mouth but meets sealed lips. She frowns and pulls away.

"Kazume you're starting to get on my nerves… You could at least stop behaving like a statue!" she shouts at him, still getting no reaction. "It's gonna have to be the hard way then…" she grabs his face once again and stomps on his foot with her high-heeled shoes.

When the pain gets to him he opens his mouth to curse her but she stops him by catching his lips on a fierce kiss, massaging his tongue with hers. At first he's just shocked by the sudden intrusion but then his body starts moving as if it had a mind of its own, almost naturally responding to her touch.

His hands rise and wrap themselves around Mikan's waist pushing her even closer to him. She gasps noticing Natsume's sudden reaction. He takes this chance to take dominance of the kiss not wanting to think about the consequences of his actions, he pulls Mikan even closer to him and slides his tongue into Mikan's mouth.

Her eyes shoot wide open but almost instantly close again as her hands wrap around his neck and start playing with his hair and closing the small gap that still separated their bodies. They are both enjoying the moment, they can try and deny it all they want later on, but the fact that they did will remain unchanged no matter how much they refuse to accept it. They completely lose themselves in that kiss, all their thoughts and worries suddenly vanish into thin air. And for a brief moment in time nothing else in the world matters.

Mikan (don't ask me how) suddenly snaps out of it and reluctantly pushes Natsume away. Both of them panting, both of them rather disappointed and itching to pull the other into another fiery kiss, but their self-consciousness wouldn't allow it.

To be honest with you, Mikan never expected it to turn out like that. She really wasn't expecting herself to umm… enjoy it so much. She really couldn't help but stare at his lips now, she realized she probably looked stupid, but she couldn't care less, right now she had to concentrate all of her energy in controlling herself and not jumping back into his arms.

Natsume was to put it in simple words, dumbfounded. It was true; he had never really kissed anyone before that. He was shocked by her actions and even more shocked by his own! He couldn't really believe it was him back there doing that. He was outraged; his personal space had been completely invaded '_Without my consentient might I add…_' and he… he had actually liked it.

They both sigh deeply at the exact same time and they look at each other. When their eyes meet a very awkward silence surrounds them. They just stand there facing each other thinking what to do next. And Natsume decides he can't take it anymore.

"I'm hungry…" he states nonchalantly. "I'm gonna make something to eat…"

"Eh? I can just ask one of the staff members to bring breakfast… You don't have to-." She's cut off.

"It's not that I have to… I want to…" he says walking over to the kitchen '_Anything to keep me busy right now…_' he thinks while opening the fridge and taking some ingredients.

Mikan just looks at him quizzically '_Let's just pretend that never happened… Is that it?_' she asks herself and nods agreeing with the voice inside her head. "Do you need any help?" she says heading to the kitchen.

* * *

**A/N:** I wanna take this time to thank all of you who reviewed I'm really happy! Next chapter will be the party… What's gonna happen? Who knows? But drunken Mikan sure as hell sounds funny… I don't know about drunken Natsume though, will he be drunk during that party.

**To be continued…**


	8. Accidents Happen

**A/N:** Thanks for all the nice reviews and favorites and stuff! Enjoy!

**Disclaimer****:**Yeah I think you get it by now… I don't own… God I hate having to repeat myself…

**Chapter ****8 ****Accidents Happen.**

**(Normal PoV)**

Neither of them dares say as much as a word before, during and after breakfast, both trying their best not to meet the others eyes. After washing the dishes there isn't really anything left for them to do but sit around and stare at… anything but each other.

The incessant ticking of the clock sitting on the table starts getting to Mikan, to the point that she twitches every second when she hears the annoying tic-tock. Oh how she wishes to shoot that damn thing and smash it with a hammer. Natsume is pretty much the same, though he taps his finger on his lap every second.

And so it goes on for a long time… well until almost midday when she decides she can't take it anymore. (A/N: It sure took a long time to reach her limit… I wonder how much longer Natsume could hold though…)

"Okay this is getting ridiculous!" she says standing up still unconsciously twitching. "So we kissed big deal! It's not like it meant anything!"

Natsume doesn't answer; he just sits there but looks at her from the corner of his eyes, not wanting to face her. Had it really meant nothing? Of course it should have, it was just a meaningless kiss but… He shakes his head trying to get rid of those thoughts.

"I'm not gonna take this annoying silence anymore!" she says raising her voice. Once again she gets no response and the ticking continues. "AHHH! MOU ENOUGH!" she says kicking the clock off the table and stomping on it repeatedly.

Natsume covers his mouth with his hands trying to hold back a chuckle. She glares at him and he can't help but laughing out loud.

"WHAT?" Mikan shouts at him.

"Nothing…" he says still laughing. "I just… I think I sort of understand that poor clock's feelings…"

Mikan looks at him confused until she remembers what she did to him a while ago… a small smile forms on her lips "Yeah… sorry about that... it was an accident…" she says sheepishly.

"Yeah I guess anyone's foot can ACCIDENTALLY slip and step on someone else's HARD when they are both standing completely still…" he answers sarcastically.

"You can't just say apology accepted, can you? You always have to make it harder for me when I try to apologize…" she tries to pretend to be angry, but he sees right through her disguise.

"You should know by now that I'm immune to your acting skills…"

"Yeah… but it can't hurt to try." she smiles. He doesn't know why but every time she really smiles he can't help but smile along. They stay silent like that for a second or so, but Natsume knows he can't take anymore silence, so he says the first thing that crosses his mind.

"Anyway… about this party thing…" So it wasn't the best topic to talk about '_She's gonna start saying I need to learn how to dance and that stuff… but it's a hell lot better than the silence…'_ he thinks comforting himself.

"Oh… I'd completely forgotten about that…"

"Seriously how can you forget about such an important matter? My first public appearance, Mochu's parent-free-party?" he says mocking the tone she had used earlier.

"Oh shut up…" she answers coldly "I think it'll be alright… I mean you really won't be dancing, and handling complete strangers doesn't seem to be something you can't do… As long as you refrain from doing anything stupid then there's nothing else to worry about."

"Aw so no jumping on the tables and acting like a monkey then?" he asks smiling.

"Can't you stop being so sarcastic all the time?"

"Hmm… sorry no can do, it's my trademark! I mean think about it! _Tsubasa-senpai_ has the gay star tattoo on his cheek; Ruka_-pyon_ has the girly face, and _You-chan_ has the spoiled brat attitude… I was thinking I-." she cuts him off mid-sentence already knowing where this whole conversation is going.

"Nobody likes a smartass, you know?" she retorts.

"Well right back at you…"

She's decides not to answer anymore '_This discussion could continue forever…'_she sighs and sits on the couch. He looks at her very confused as she turns on the TV and switches to some fashion channel…

"What a classy way to end a conversation…" he says while he sits next to her, well not exactly next to, he makes sure to leave some space between them.

Without taking her eyes off the TV she answers "If I kept answering to you this discussion would never end now would it?" she sighs and switches the channel again "Arguing with you is really exhausting… Just like with Hotaru." She adds.

He could retort to that and continue the pointless argument, but he decides to just lie back and watch TV, for peace's sake. After watching some weird girl show Natsume starts feeling sleepy, eventually his eyes close and he falls to the side, landing on Mikan's lap.

She's startled and is about to yell at him when she notices he's sound asleep. Somehow seeing him like that makes her feel a little tired too and decides to indulge herself with a quick nap, there's still a lot of time before the party anyway… She closes her eyes and dozes off to sleep.

The minutes quickly turn into hours, and Mikan and Natsume are still sleeping. Night falls, but neither of them notices.

-_Pick up baka it's me-_ Mikan's cell phone sounds. She yawns and picks it up. Still half asleep she answers.

"Hello?" she yawns once again. "Ah Hotaru… What's up?" she asks rubbing her eyes. (A/N: Remember the "_**pause"**_thing from the previous chapter? Well same situation…)

"Yeah I sort of fell asleep on the couch hehe…" _**pause**_

"EH RIGHT NOW? But it's still…" _**pause**_

"What time is it now?" _**pause**_

"WHAT HALF PAST TEN!" _**pause**_

"Sorry Hotaru I gotta hang up now, I'll explain later. Ja!" -_Click-_ she hangs up.

"HEY! HEYY! WAKE UP! WE GOTTA GO!" she shouts getting up and throwing Natsume to the floor on the process.

"What the-?" he says holding his head watching Mikan running into her room and slamming the door shut with an extremely loud -_BANG-_"What do you mean we gotta go? It's still early right I only slept for like two hours tops…" he says while standing up and dusting his clothes.

Mikan comes rushing out of the room minutes later, make up perfectly applied on her face and with a completely different outfit from the one she was wearing before. (A/N: Okay I hate describing clothes, honestly, don't ask me why… I'm sorry I know it's an important thing but… -_sigh-_ Fine I'll do it, sorry if it's not any good…)

Natsume stares at her for a while; she's wearing a simple black miniskirt, a strapless white top and a pair of black high-heeled boots… Oh wait; make that _designer's_ miniskirt, _designer's_ white top and _designer's_black boots. Her hair was let down, she probably didn't want to waste time tying it.

"I thought most girls took like hours to get ready for events like parties and stuff…" Natsume says not hiding the amazement in his voice.

"Well I'm not "most girls"…" she says grabbing his wrist and pulling him over to the exit.

"Wait, what about me? Didn't you buy a special "party outfit" yesterday?" she looks at him for a second and stops to think. She walks over to the seven remaining bags picks them up and walks to the car dragging him with her.

She opens the back door and throws the bags and Natsume into the car. She gets on the front seat and drives away.

"Change before we get there, you have like ten or fifteen minutes…" she says

"What? I'm not changing here!"

"Oh please we've already been through this remember? Besides I'm driving it's not like I can watch or anything… Even if I wanted to, which I don't!"

"You could've left me five minutes to change before we left!"

"No… The first time I told you to change you took like an hour inside the bathroom… We're already running late as it is..."

"Well I'm not changing then… There's nothing wrong with these clothes anyway"

"Do what you want, but don't blame me if-."

"I hate it when people play the 'don't-blame-me-if' card" he says and starts unbuttoning his shirt.

"Well you should just cooperate from the start, and then I wouldn't have to…"

Ten minutes later they arrive at a Mochu's place. Mikan parks the car a bit farther away from the house and checks Natsume before letting him out of the car. After making sure his hair is in place, she checks his clothes. He's wearing a light-blue t-shirt with a dark-blue open shirt on top of it, dark jeans and black converse shoes.

"Are you ready?" she asks him before ringing the doorbell.

He sighs and nods "Let's get over with this already…" as soon as he finishes his sentence she rings and almost immediately the door bursts open.

"You're late…" Hotaru says staring at Mikan.

She smiles sheepishly "Yeah sorry we sort of fell asleep and-." Natsume elbows her discretely.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" Hotaru suddenly asks turning to Natsume. He gasps and tries to answer.

"Ac- actually I- I'm umm…" he stammers and isn't able to finish, fortunately Mikan completes the phrase for him

"This is the guy I was talking to you about… He's Natsume… the friend I wanted you to meet…" she says pointing at him, he just nods.

"Natsume, as in… Hyuuga Natsume?" she asks incredulously.

"Yes… It's nice to finally meet you Imai-san…" he says finally finding his voice so to speak.

Looking at him from head to toe, up and down, she finally speaks "We've already met; we're in the same class baka…" she says coldly.

Natsume sweat drops; he doesn't know what to say.

"Anyway, I'll introduce him to the rest of the group and then maybe you can get to know each other." Mikan interrupts and pulls him into the house and winks.

When they enter the music suddenly stops and everyone turns around to look at Mikan who smiles brightly and says in a loud voice for everyone to hear "Hi everyone! I'm sorry to interrupt the music but this'll take just a second." All around whispers can be heard from girls gossiping saying things like:

"Who's that guy?"

"Is he her new boyfriend?"

"I hope he isn't!"

"Ah he's really hot!"

And stuff like that… Natsume who's obviously not used to being the center of attention starts becoming really nervous and literally hot (as in temperature). Mikan just ignores the comments and carries on with her speech.

"THIS" she says pointing at him "Is OUR new friend… Hyuuga Natsume-kun!" she says smiling even more as she hears a loud "EHHHHH!" coming from the crowd. "I take it that you all know him... And I hope you can forget about the past and give him a warm welcome!"

Silence takes over the room for a second, until from the back of the room Tsubasa shouts "How about a round of applause for our new fellow Natsume?" everyone starts clapping, shouting and whistling creating a huge commotion.

The music starts once again and the party continues as if nothing had happened. Mikan pats Natsume on the shoulder and whispers to him "Well, you're on your own from now. Remember don't do anything stupid and be nice." And she walks away into the crowd.

Completely clueless of what to do next he just starts wandering around avoiding big masses of people, dealing with one or two (probably drunk) teens on the way.

He spots Youichi sitting on a couch with his usual poker face; surrounded by noisy, annoying (fan) girls. He laughs at the scene '_I wonder if he'll tape their mouths…'_he thinks and laughs some more. When they grey-haired teen notices him he stands up and walks over to him, followed by the (fan) girls who look at him like hungry lions looking at their next prey.

"Ah! Youichi-kun and Natsume-kun know each other?" asks one of the girls when she notices how both of them exchange smirks. Youichi's smirk widens and he nods. Suddenly all of the (fan) girls surround Natsume and start introducing themselves to him.

Youichi takes the chance to run away. Natsume glares at him and shouts "Youichi you little, I'm gonna get you for this!"

Mikan who's silently looking at the turn of events smiles glad that things are working out for the best. She grabs a small bottle of beer from a little fridge and starts drinking it. (A/N: And so it begins -_insert evil laughter-)_

Natsume tries to escape but the girls follow him everywhere. He could try to find Ruka or someone else to attach them to but he couldn't really see anyone with all of them blocking his sight. And then he gets an idea…

He raises a hand and points his index finger to the side and gasps faking surprise, all of the girls turn their heads to look in that direction. Obviously when they turn back to look at him he isn't there anymore.

He finds himself in the garden after aimlessly wandering around the house. He starts to wonder why there's nobody back there, but then again, better for him… He walks over to a sakura tree and sits down, gazing at the stars. (A/N: The sakura tree, just like the polka-dots is a MUST HAVE in any Gakuen Alice fic, don't you agree?)

He sighs, this sort of thing really didn't go with him, he wasn't the party type of guy, yet here he was, all dolled up to impress a girl he couldn't even talk to without feeling the need to rush to a bathroom and throw up.

"Why did you let her do this to you?" he hears a voice asking.

"To be honest with you I don't really know myself… I thought I had nothing to lose and…"

"And you had something to win?" the owner of the voice sits down next to him.

"Well… maybe I do, although I'm not so sure anymore…" he doesn't even mind to check who the voice belongs to, he really doesn't care.

"Is it a girl? Is that why you're mounting this whole show?"

"At first it was…"

"Isn't it anymore?"

"I guess it still is I mean I haven't really ever talked her other than today, and that went awfully bad… but I can't help but feel like I know exactly the type of person she is…"

"So why don't you talk to her?"

He shrugs "Perhaps it's because I'm scared that she's not what I imagine her to be…"

"Or maybe you're just scared…"

"I'M JUST GONNA GET SOME FRESH AIR I'LL BE RIGHT BACK!"Mikan shouts while walking out of the house.

The person sitting next to Natsume stands up and starts walking away when Natsume turns to see who it is and says "Wait I don't even know who you-." He cuts himself off when he realizes he'd been talking to Hotaru all along. He starts blushing madly and buries his face on his hands.

"AH! There you are! I was wondering where you'd run off to!" Mikan shouts at Natsume walking over to him, laughing all the way.

When she reaches him he looks at her, she laughs a little and trips, luckily he grabs her before she hits the ground and helps her sit down.

"Are you drunk or something?" he asks looking at the bottle she's holding.

"NO! There's no possible way Sakura Mikan gets drunkkk! I just trippedddh; it was an accident it can happen to anyone!" She answers pretending to be outraged by his supposition.

"How many of these have you had?" Natsume asks taking the small bottle of beer from Mikan's hand and carefully inspecting it. She suddenly breaks down into uncontrollable laughter and starts hitting the ground with her fist.

"Hehe not many… Like maybe 2…" she says rolling her eyes and burst out laughing once again.

"You're lying…" he says with a serious face.

"Okay, so maybe it was more like 6… I lost count after that… theehee" his expression doesn't waver.

Discarding the aforementioned bottle he sighs and grabs her by the shoulders and looks at her intently. "Mikan, you should really stop acting like this and pull yourself together…" her eyes start sparkling and she blushes. She looks at him with longing eyes.

"Ano…" she mumbles as she approaches her face to his, her eyelids starting to close, but not completely "Ano ne… Natsume …" his eyes widen and his mouth gapes at the sound of his real name coming from her mouth "I think I might have…" she tilts her head slightly to the side "I might have accidentally… _fallen for you_…" She says the last part in a lower voice. He doesn't really catch the last thing she says, and is about to ask her to repeat it when she prevents any sound from escaping his mouth by crashing her lips against his.

He quickly pulls her away, not really sure as to what to tell her (A/N: Remember he didn't hear the "fallen for you" part…) She starts giggling and he looks at her very confused. After recovering from the shock Natsume decides to speak up.

"Mikan… I don't think there's a gentle way to say this but…" He picks up the bottle of beer and hands it back to her "You've been drinking beer all night haven't you?" he asks concerned.

"Well yah! But I'm not druu-hunk!" she says laughing.

"I know...I know there's no possible way you could be…" he says "Because Mikan…" he continues "That beer… is alcohol-free…" he finally adds pointing at the empty bottle.

* * *

**A/N:**SHOCK! Oh my god… So she really wasn't drunk after all! And she said those things, and he didn't hear! Why did he have to miss the best part!

So what's gonna happen next? What is she gonna say now?

**To be continued…**


	9. Twins

**A/N:** Yay chapter 9 is finally here! hope you enjoy it…

**Disclaimer****:** I hereby declare I don't own Gakuen Alice, not now, not ever, so get off my back you frigggin suing guys!

**Chapter 9 ****Twins.**

**(Normal PoV)**

Mikan's uncontrollable laughter stops suddenly and her face becomes completely serious. She stares at the bottle angrily as if she could make the whole situation better if she just made it disappear by glaring at it.

She looks at Natsume to test his reaction but he just stares back waiting for her response.

* * *

**(Mikan's PoV)**

"I…" I gotta think of something to say… quick. I look back at the bottle and take a deep breath "I knew that…" I say trying to sound as convincing as possible but as he's stated before, my acting skills don't work on him.

"Yeah, of course you did, that explains why you suddenly stopped acting like you were drunk when I told you about it…" he answers raising an eyebrow.

"What I can't laugh now without you thinking I'm drunk?" I must look really stupid about now…

Oh god… What have I done? How could I not realize this before? It was an honest mistake! I swear I really didn't see that alcohol-free sign, and besides who the hell serves alcohol-free beer in a party? I'm gonna kill the asshole responsible for this.

For the time being I really should worry about thinking of a way to talk my way out of-

"Oh no, it wasn't just laughing, it was the fact that you 'trippedddh' and you laughed like a maniac before and after YOU kissed ME. That would make anyone think you were 'druu-hunk'…" Well if you put it that way I MAY have looked SLIGHTLY drunk…

"That was umm… for word emphasis…"

"You honestly expect me to buy all of this crap, don't you?"

"It's not crap, it's the truth, and I told you I wasn't drunk because I wasn't!" I would really love to slap myself right now...

"You thought you were, didn't you?"

"I most certainly did NOT! Who would be stupid enough to think such a thing?" Great, now I wanna kick my own ass… I stand up and drop the bottle on the floor where I was previously sitting.

"I do hope that's a rhetorical question…" he says standing up trying to make me look at him in the eyes. "Unless you really are expecting me to say 'you're right, what was I thinking?' and forget about it…"

As a matter of fact it is the former, though I must admit the latter would be much better…

"A little of both actually…" I say grinning still not making eye contact.

"You do realize that you're admitting you thought you were drunk right?" he says half laughing.

"I was not drunk and I didn't think I was either! But I-." he raises a hand in front of my face.

"Okay, so let's hypothetically say I believe you…" I think I know where this is going… "That you didn't think you were drunk and you were completely aware of what you were doing…" Yeah, I really don't like where this conversation is headed. "If so, you have a bigger problem…"

"What?" I ask placing my hands on my hips pretending to be annoyed. I already know what he's going to say, oh god…

"You kissed me…" IS IT REALLY NECESSARY TO BE SO STRAIGHTFORWARD? "I _could_ let it slip if you thought you were drunk, but if you were fully aware of your actions I'm afraid I'll have to ask why you did it… It's your choice."

Great, so I have to choose between admitting to be the world's biggest moron or… make up some lame excuse as to why I -_cough-_ well you know, I… umm… Anyway, I'm going to execute Plan B.

"Whatever…" I say and walk away at a quick pace. I know it's not a very thought out plan, but running away is the only thing I could think of in such a short time. Knowing when to retreat is a strength too you know! Now the only thing left to do is avoid him and-.

"Hey!" he says running up to me and pulling me back grabbing my shoulder "I'm not letting you get away…" Okay I didn't want to have to do this, but Plan C is all I've got left now. I take a deep breath, close my eyes, sigh loudly, turn around slowly and flash him a big smile.

Without saying as much as a word I quickly raise my right hand and… -_SLAP-_ I run back into the house leaving a probably gaping Natsume behind.

* * *

**(Natsume's PoV)**

Okay, what did just happen? One minute she acts all cute and nice and then out of the blue she slaps me and runs away? I seriously don't get her one bit… and I thought I had learnt to read her, seems I was wrong.

Now just hold on a sec… Either I was hallucinating back there or she… She called me by my real name… And why didn't I notice this before? AH! How does she do that? Leaving me speechless that is… In the past two days it's happened like five times at the very least.

Crap I forgot to ask what she said… Why do I always forget to ask about the most important things and stick to the obvious ones? Although she didn't really answer any of the things I asked. Like why did she kiss me anyway?

Maybe she really thought she was drunk, that sounds pretty stupid, but it could be… or maybe she kissed on purpose so that I'd forget to talk about anything else… Aha! It makes perfect sense.

She had to tell me something but didn't really want me to talk about it, and so she kissed me so that I'd forget about it and then I wouldn't ask. Yes, sounds farfetched enough to be a plan made up by her.

Am I over thinking about this? -_Sigh-_ I'll just head back for now and worry about that later.

Once I'm back inside the house Andou approaches me with a big moronic smile on his face.

"Yo Katsuuume 'zzuppp? Enjoynning the party ri -_hiccup-_right?" he says putting one of his hands around my shoulder.

"You stink of alcohol Andou, get away from me…" I answer slapping his hand away.

"Ohh c'mon you need to try and enjoynn -_hiccup-_the party!" He picks up a glass from the table "Here drink this." He says handing it to me.

I look at him with a what-the-hell-is-that look on my face but he answers pressing the (somewhat) blue-liquid-filled-glass against my chest. I take it away from him and he smiles even more.

"What's in it?" I ask examining it closely.

"I dunno… Just drink it, it won't kill you -_hiccup-_ hopephhlully…" he laughs.

That's not really encouraging… Ah, but what the hell, when in Rome… Besides one drink can't really hurt…

I raise the glass in front of my face "Cheers" I say before pouring all the blue-liquid into my mouth and swallowing quickly. Andou looks at me dumbfounded.

"Duuudddee! Aweesomeee! That's like a world record or something!"

"What?" I ask confused.

"You just like, drank the whole thing like so fast! It was awesome…" he gives me another glass, this time bigger and with some sort of pinkish liquid. "Do it agaiiin! Oh no waittt…" He takes a look around and grabs someone's arm. "Oi Ruka-piopio you hafta check this outtt, he's like the Drink-Master!" he shouts at an angry-looking Ruka "You show 'im"

Once again I quickly drink the contents of the glass in a matter of seconds.

"Awesomeeee!" Ruka shouts. They have a pretty limited vocabulary. "We totally gotta try him against Koko!" he tells Andou.

"Nah I don't think he can beat Koko, that dude is like waaaaay out of his league…" I look at them very confused and maybe just a tinsy bit tipsy.

"Way out of my league for what?" I ask.

"Duh! Drinking contest!" Ruka answers, looking at me as if I was the stupidest monkey on earth. Well who would knew he could act like that? Alcohol is such a mysterious thing… I have to make a mental note NOT to get drunk.

"Ooo-kay we gotta find that dude… He's probably around here somewhere" Andou says "KOKOOOO!" He shrieks "KOOOOKOOO DUDEEE!"

"Stop screaming dude I'm right here! Geez I think my eardrum just went kaboom…" a blonde says while holding his ears. Andou turns around and sees Koko standing right behind him.

"We got you new drinking competition…" Ruka says pointing at me.

"The new dude? He's no match for me…" he answers boastfully. This dude is so full of it… Oh god now I'm using the word 'dude', that's just awesome... Geez I just wanna punch myself right now…

"Hehe you're just too scared of losing to me…" I answer sounding as full of it as him, if not more.

"You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into new dude…" he glares at me.

"Bring it…" I smirk and return his glare. Okay, I admit I got a little carried away, but I just can't walk away from a challenge. Hyuuga Natsume is no coward.

"No chickening out later on..."

"That's exactly what I was gonna tell you…"

A couple of minutes later a table's set, two chairs facing each other at either side of it. In front of each chair, three glasses with three different colored drinks, and surrounding the table, a huge crowd of people watching the whole thing.

"Sooo the rules are the same as always, the one who finishes the three drinks first wins umm yeah well that's all…" Andou says landing a hand on the middle of the table. "You guys ready?"

Koko and I sit down. "Ready…" he says "I hope you don't have to drive back home later on…" he smirks.

"If I were you I'd worry about myself…" I stare at him for a while and place my hand on one of the drinks; he does the same "Ready…" I finally say.

"Drink!" Andou shouts raising his hand. Both Koko and I start drinking fast and the crowd starts shouting.

About a minute or so later I slam the third glass on the table and stand up pushing the chair backwards.

"FINISHED!" We both shout at the same time standing in the same way. The crowd gasps and we look at each other. I throw myself onto the chair and so does Koko, we both start laughing like mad people.

"So who won?" someone asks.

"Oi Tsubasa you're the judge, who won?" Ruka elbows Andou who is too busy talking to some umm I think that's either a two headed girl or maybe Siamese twins…

"Eh? Umm it was a tie…" he answers turning back to the two headed girl talking to him.

"Whadda ya mean tie? You have to say who won!" Koko shouts holding to the edge of the table to stand up.

"How 'bout a tiebreak?" I say slowly stumbling to my feet. Whoa okay the world is shaking. Okay I just gotta get a hang of the table and then… damn you table quit moving around! Um are tables supposed to move? HA! No matter I got it…

"You don't look as though you can handle a tiebreak new dude…" Koko says and grins like an idiot.

"HA! We'll see about that. I can take you on any time!" Maybe I'm exaggerating just a little, I actually don't feel so good but I'm not backing out now!

"Fine, we'll have a final slowdown then! Err I mean final showdown!" he says picking up a bottle with some transparent liquid and placing it on the table. Some guys give each of us five small glasses and someone fills them with the water looking thing.

"What's this err water?" I ask to no one in particular.

"The first one to finish the five glasses wins… And umm" he scratches his head.

"Let's get this over with." I say sitting down "Ru- Err Ruka… You judge Andou is too busy with the two headed monster over there…" I say pointing at the girl. "Okay ready?"

"Ready" Koko answers.

"Start!" Ruka shouts. Geez this would be much easier if the damn glasses would just stay still! Well at least Koko doesn't seem to be doing so great anyway.

"FINISHED!" I shout jumping up and almost falling. Maybe I should just sit down for a while.

"I gotta hand it to you new dude… err Natsume was it? You're like the first person ever to beat me hehe…" The whole crowd starts clapping and yelling and damn they are noisy! Hold on a second when did everyone get a twin? Oohh godddd I really need to get out of here I think my brain is gonna explode.

I get off of the chair only to fall on my butt to the floor, bringing the table and apparently Koko, down with me. Crap, I gotta get up…

"Are you alright? Here let me help you up…" someone extends a hand to me.

"Ah thanks…" I say rubbing my head.

Right, let's see if I remember how to do this… First place the left foot on the floor, yeah check, then the right knee, check. Now grab the hand and get up. The crowd starts dispersing.

"Whoa, so did I win?" I know it took a while to ask but I'm not really sure…

"Dude you're like the first dude ever to beat Koko, he's like invincible…" Andou says, apparently the two headed monster is gone.

"So did I win?" I ask again. What a stupid question, he already said I did, right? Oh, maybe it wasn't such a stupid question.

Andou, Koko, Ruka and their respective twins start laughing… "You seriously need to get some fresh air dude, come with us we're going to the pool …" One of the six says…

"Pool where's dat?" I ask holding on to someone's arm for support.

"Um I don't remember, it's in the place, you know, the… it's the umm… what's it called? You know the place with a pool and lots of flowers…" Andou says scratching his head.

"You mean your room?" Ruka asks laughing.

"Noooo… that's not it, there's not a pool in my room…" he answers frowning "Anyway dudette here will lead the way…" he says pointing to the person holding me, apparently it's a girl… a two headed one.

Ruka picks Koko up and we start walking to some place with a lot of flour and a pool… Hmm…

"I GOT IT! It's a bakery!" I shout turning to look at Andou.

"What?" he says looking at me confused… I thought it was pretty obvious…

"You know the place with lots of flour and a pool…" Oh wait a second…

"No…" he says after thinking about it "Bakeries don't have pools..." yeah I guess he's right "Dude how much longer till we get there? We've been walking for like ages!"

"It was more like a minute… And stop using the word 'dude' already, it's annoying…" The girl carrying me says. Party popper… hehe hehe I don't even know why I'm laughing but I bet it's really funny…

"I just want to make one thing perfectly clear…" I say after some more walking and laughing… "Did I win?" I ask once more, it's just I'm still not quite sure…

* * *

**A/N:** About the two headed girl thing, she's not really two headed or anything, his vision is a bit distorted… Just wanted to make clear that there's not really a two headed monster… The twin thing… well yeah he's seeing double...

**To be continued…**


	10. Honestly

**A/N:** Wohooo! Chapter 10… Not much to say, I'll just try to make it less horrible than the last one.

Anyways I hope you enjoy it!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gakuen Alice etc…

**Chapter 10 Honestly...**

**(Normal****PoV)**

"Ninetyyy-eightthh bottlessshh of beeeerr on the wall! Ninetyyy-eightthh bottleeesshh off beeeeeerrr! On-" Natsume sings.

"Would you shut up already?" The girl carrying him says glaring at him.

"Ugh… Now look what you did, I lost count… Damn it, now I have to start all over again!" Natsume says and starts singing once again. "Onee hundreeeddd bottlesssss…"

"Well if you're not gonna shut up then…" leading Natsume to the edge of the swimming pool, she gently pushes him with just one finger. He completely loses his balance and falls into the water. Everyone starts laughing while he shakes his hands in the air and yells.

"Help I'm gonna drown! Get me out!"

"You can stand up genius…" The girl tells him sounding rather annoyed.

"Imai don't you think that was a little mean? You didn't have to throw him-." Ruka quickly closes his mouth after receiving a deathly glare from Hotaru and backs away a little.

"Unless you want to be next, I suggest you keep your comments to yourself." She says walking to a nearby chair.

"Ohh no you don't!" Natsume quickly gets out of the pool and runs to catch up with her. He suddenly grabs her by the waist and picks her up bridal style. Everyone gasps loudly at the sight of Hotaru being suspended in the air.

"If you know what's best for you, you're gonna put me down NOW…" she says not even showing a sign of being worried.

"Hmm let me pretend I care about the consequences of what I'm about to do for a second…" He rolls his eyes a couple of times and then starts running towards the pool.

"Hyuuga don't make me repeat myself again, put me down NOW!" she demands her voice a little louder than before.

Natsume sighs loudly "Fine… Sorry I don't know what took over me… I'll just put you down now…" a big smirks forms on his lips "NOT!" he shouts right before jumping into the pool bringing Hotaru down with him.

"He's so dead…" Koko says to no one in particular.

"He was such a brave dude… sob, sob." Tsubasa adds pretending to blow his nose with Ruka's shirt.

"I call dibs on the clothes we bought him!" Ruka says pushing Tsubasa away from him.

"Hey, that's not fair! We'll go 50-50…" Tsubasa answers.

"I'm not dead yet! And even if I die you're not getting any of my stuff!" Natsume shouts at them as he comes out of the water.

Hotaru starts emerging from underwater a second later, all faces turn to look at her and Natsume smiles sheepishly.

"How dare you?" she says glaring at him.

'_Seriously, how dare I? What was I thinking?'_ he asks himself "How dare YOU?" he answers pointing at her.

"You're gonna regret this Hyuuga I'm gonna-."

"Aw come on, try to have a little fun. You can worry about killing me later…" he says and then he splashes some water in her face. '_Natsume stop this NOW, you can still walk out of this without looking like a complete moron if you stop NOW!'_ he thinks and then splashes some more water at her and starts laughing. '_Why can't I stop being so stupid?'_

Hotaru looks at him in disbelief. "You're basically saying that if I have fun now, you'll let me have my revenge on you later, no complaints?" she asks although it almost sounds like an affirmation.

"Sure whatever…" he says '_what am I talking about? STOP IT! Damn body, punch yourself! Listen to me!'_

"Here you are! I've been looking for you guys." Mikan says as she walks to Ruka and the others, followed by Youichi. She looks down into the pool and notices Natsume and Hotaru standing there. "Hotaru, what-."

Koko, Tsubasa and Ruka exchange mischievous smiles and grab Mikan and Youichi, all of them jump (or are forced to jump) into the pool at the same time. Mikan blinks a couple of times before yelling.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING! You ruined my hair, and my make-up, not to mention my clothes!" she screams at each of them.

'_I though she said she didn't care about her clothes getting wet…'_ Natsume thinks as he remembers that day when they stood under the rain. '_Oh right, but that was Mikan talking…'_

"Don't be a party popper _Minako…_" he tells her pouting.

"Oh my god, have you been drinking?" she says walking over to him.

"You should have seen him, he even beat Koko! It was like one second there where five glasses of tequeehmphl-." Natsume covers Tsubasa's mouth with his hand before he can finish his sentence.

"I just had like two drinks, big deal…" he says trying to look as convincing as possible. '_I bet she isn't buying any of this…'_

"Yeah, I bet you did…" she says and sniffs his clothes "You stink of alcohol…" she pinches her nose with her thumb and index finger. "I get the 'he even beat Koko' thing now…"

"Look, it's not what you think I just…" everyone stares at Natsume with puzzled faces and as soon as he notices this he shakes his head "It's not like I need to explain myself to YOU…" he finishes and sticks his tongue out.

"Really mature…" she says grabbing his wrist and starts dragging him out of the pool.

"Let go off me, you don't have to look after me like you were my mom or something!" he tries to break free from her grip, but considering his state, he'd even find it impossible to break free from a baby's grip.

Hotaru and the others just stare at the scene disbelievingly, but choose not to meddle. Hotaru and Youichi because they think it's none of their business and they don't want to be dragged into a troublesome matter that doesn't even concern them to begin with. And as far as the other three go, they just find it too amusing to interrupt.

Once they are out of the group's sight Natsume looks back to check that no one is following them. "Would you let me go already and tell me why you dragged me all the way here?" He says crossly.

"You're making a fool out of yourself…" she states, suddenly stopping walking and not turning to look at him.

"What are you talking about?"

"You're drunk…" She says still not facing him.

"Well at least I'm not pretending to be so that I can steal a kiss from someone else!" he spits and releases his hand from hers. "But I guess that's the only thing you're good at, pretending…"

Mikan turns around and Natsume can see a slight hurt look on her face. She stares at him for a second and then slaps him across the face, hard. "JERK!" she shouts at him and starts walking away.

Almost automatically his body moves forward and he pulls Mikan backwards making her face him. "I'm not letting you slap me and then run away again." He says staring at her directly into her eyes. "Look I just…" he pauses and sighs loudly. "I don't know why I said that…" he drops himself on the ground and lies against the trunk of a tree motioning Mikan to sit next to him.

She stares at him for a while and then decides to sit down. "They say drunken people don't lie… So I guess that's what you really think about me…" she says in a hurtful voice.

"It's not!" he quickly defends "I didn't mean it like that… It's just…"

"It's alright." She cuts him off "It's not like you're the only one who thinks that…" she gives him a fake smile.

"But I'm the first to say it, is that what you mean?" he looks at her and notices the fake smile gone "Look, I didn't mean to hurt you… I'm not really myself right now…" he says placing his hand on his forehead.

"Yeah, you're drunk; of course you're not yourself…" she looks at him and chuckles "You wouldn't have thrown Hotaru into the pool if you were." They both laugh a little at that.

"She probably hates me right now…" he sighs and yet keeps smiling,

"Actually I think she's starting to like you a little…" he looks at her, confusion written all over his face. "Well you'd be dead by now if she didn't…" she explains.

"Oh, we agreed she'd have her revenge on me later…" he says laughing nervously.

"What do you mean later? Umm, you know what? I don't really wanna know…" she laughs.

"Can I ask you something?" he says staring at his feet.

"No…" she answers plainly.

"What? You don't even know what I'm going to ask!" he tries to convince her.

"I said no, and that's definite…" she stand s up quickly followed by Natsume who pins her to the tree he was just resting his back against. "Back off." She says trying to sound menacing.

"No, not until you stop avoiding me and answer honestly…" he says determined to get her to tell the truth this time.

She doesn't say anything and just looks down at the floor not wanting to meet his burning gaze.

"Why can't you just be honest this once?" he asks almost pleadingly.

"There's nothing to be honest about…" she lies feeling rather guilty about it.

"If there really isn't then why don't you just look at me in the eyes and say it?"

"…" she just stands there without moving.

"You want to know the reason why you can't be honest? It's because you're weak… If you were just half as strong as you pretend to be all the time…"

"OKAY! Don't you think it's been enough insulting for one day?" she says, tears forming in her eyes refusing to come out, although probably her shaky voice gave it away.

"Just tell me why and I'll never talk to you again in my life if that's what you want…"

"Why what?" she snaps back.

"Why did you do it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about…" she answers finally calming down a little.

"Stop playing dumb! I know perfectly well you aren't. Now answer the question…" he raises his voice a bit more than he would have liked to.

"It doesn't matter anyway… just leave me alone." She can feel the tears whelming up again.

"Why?" he insists, his patience growing thinner by the second.

"No reason…"

"Okay fine! You know what? I don't care anymore… Do what you want!" he shouts finally losing the last bit of patience he had left.

"Funny to hear YOU saying that…" she lets out a barely audible sarcastic snort, he probably doesn't hear.

"I don't know where the 'funny' part is…" he says seriously.

"What you're mad at me now?" she finally looks at him in the eyes and blushes a little after seeing his thoughtful expression, but she doesn't look away.

"No… Actually I'm not really sure how I feel about you right now…" after hearing this Mikan gasps loudly and Natsume backs away.

They look at each other intently for what seems like an entire lifetime before Natsume starts slowly approaching Mikan placing one hand gently on her face.

* * *

**(Natsume's PoV)**

Ugh, I'm starting to feel a bit lightheaded… What's going on with me? My face feels hot and my heart feels like it's about to come out through my mouth.

I take a step forward, closer to her. She's still staring at me with those almond eyes… I wonder what she's thinking right now. Maybe that our faces are too close to one another, like I am… Perhaps it's just my impression; I mean a while ago I thought that the table was moving…

No, this is not just my imagination, her face is getting closer to mine… or is mine getting closer to hers? All this thinking is making me nauseous…

The world starts shaking and I see darkness starting to cover everything around me. I can't feel anything anymore. Before darkness completely covers everything I see Mikan, Imai and some more people rushing to my side calling out my name…

What's wrong with them? They are staring at me like they've seen a ghost or something… Am… I… gonna… di-…

* * *

_**-Blackout-**_ (A/N: For who knows how long…)

Ohhh god my head's spinning like crazy. Where the heck is this? Ugh I just gotta sit up straight and… whoaaaa… Okay so either a truck just ran over me or a piano fell on my head, and to make things better my mouth tastes like… well actually like coffee and shit… but mostly the second one.

It's so dark I can't even see my own hands, and I feel so heavy I can't get up from my lying position, although the floor's rather soft and bouncy.

Oh- I don't think this is floor… But what is it? A carpet… no, carpets aren't bouncy right? Maybe it is -_Mumble_-

OH- KAY… Something or rather SOMEONE is moving next to me and the heaviness I just felt is now gone… I guess now I know why I felt so heavy a while ago.

"_Hello?"_ I whisper and wait for an answer. After a while of silence, I reach out to shake the person awake but my hand accidentally lands on… umm… oh well, at least I'm glad it's a girl and not a guy. It would have taken many years of therapy to get over it if it had been the latter. -_Sigh-_

HOLD IT! Did I just say that there's a girl? And she's sleeping next to me? And I'm lying on what I can only assume is a bed?

This can't be what I think it is, I'm just jumping into conclusions too fast, and my lack of shirt (and pants for that matter) is not really helping at all.

"Hmm… wha… -_yawn-_." She starts moving and I freak out and fall onto the ground. "What the-?" I hear ruffling and suddenly the room becomes so bright I need to cover my eyes.

"CRAP I THINK I'M BLIND!" I shout while rubbing my eyes brusquely.

"Relax… You just have to get used to the light…" the girl says in an irritated tone approaching the edge of the bed to look at me. "You're gonna hurt your eyes if you scratch them so much baka…" she says as she gently pulls my hands away from them.

I look at her trying to focus and blink a couple of times to get rid of my now blurry vision.

"YOU!" I yell at the top of my lungs when I finally am able to recognize her face.

* * *

**A/N:** Hahahahahahah this is like the most clichéd cliffhangers in the history of mankind. But I've always wanted to do this.

So who do you think it is? Hotaru? Mikan? Someone else? Well at least we're sure it is a girl…

**To be continued…**


	11. Girlfriend? Fiancée!

**A/N:** Hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** Higuchi Tachibana-sensei owns Gakuen Alice, not me…

**Chapter 11****Girlfriend? Fiancée?**

**(Normal PoV)**

"YOU! What are you doing here!" Natsume asks completely shocked quickly scanning his surroundings and immediately recognizing the place as his room.

"What do you mean what am I doing here? Don't you remember?" the girl asks him rather irritated.

"I- Remember? What is it that I should remember?" He asked rather shakily. "Di- did _something_happen, you know umm… between us?" he says lowly not really wanting to know the answer to that question.

"What?" she looks at him disbelievingly for a second. "Oh you mean did we do it?" she asks casually. (A/N: You all know what _it_is. If not, you have a long overdue chat with your parents.) Natsume nods stiffly and she let's out a loud snort. "Well, you _did_ drink a lot last night…" she states almost teasingly but not quite…

Natsume instantly freezes as a cold wind blows in the room. His jaw starts shaking and his right eye starts twitching. "Y- You… Ah…" is all he manages to let out.

She gets off the bed slowly and starts walking over to the gawking teen who takes a step back for every step forward she takes. "What's wrong _Natsu_-_chan_?" She smirks as he hits the wall with his back.

He raises a hand and starts shaking it quickly in front of his face. "Wait… this isn't… Look I don't… I didn't… I mean I wasn't… I…" he slaps his forehead with the hand he's been shaking. "I don't even know what I want to say anymore…" he sighs.

"You don't have to act so shocked _Natsu-chan_…" her smirks widens as she sees the horrified look on his face when she ruffles his hair with her hand.

"WHY do you keep calling me _Natsu-chan_?" he asks sounding more irritated than nervous. (A/N: But if there's something we've learnt throughout this fic is that he really HATES it when they call him weird names…)

"Well your mom calls you that, and since I'm your girlfriend now I-."

"YOU ARE MY WHAT!" He screams at the top of his lungs for all Japan to hear.

She instantly covers his mouth with her right hand to keep him from shouting anymore. Placing her left index finger to her lips "Shhh… Calm down…" she says crossly.

Natsume glares at her and tries to say something in his defense but fails miserably as muffled words leave his mouth.

"Okay, I'll remove the hand if you promise you'll be a good doggie and you'll stay put and will refrain from barking…" she looks at him doubtfully but removes the hand nonetheless. "Now I know-."

"I can't believe this is happening…" he says shaking his head. "I'm never going to a party again…" he places a hand to his forehead. "Oh god I'm so dead…" he mumbles as he recalls last night's events.

"STOP INTERRUPTING KAZUME!" she suddenly snaps at him. (A/N: There you go, mystery solved…) "Honestly… Are you going to let me explain what happened or do you want me to call your mom to explain?" she threatens.

"Go ahead…" he sighs "I won't interrupt…" Natsume says holding both of his hands in the air in defeat and sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Right… So you remember we were talking under the tree…" she says and he nods. "Well, you kind of passed out and then…"

* * *

**(Retelling-brought to you by Mikan)**

(A/N: Since it is Mikan retelling the events to Natsume he'll be referred to as "YOU" because she's talking to him. Things in _**Bold-Italics**_are comments they make in the middle of the retelling.)

"Are you alright? Open your eyes hey!" I shouted when suddenly Hotaru and the others came from god knows where.

"What happened?" she asked me calmly as usual.

"I don't know. We were talking and he just passed out…" I explained nervously.

_**("Hold it… You were worried about me?" Natsume asks grinning proudly.**_

_**"You wish… I was just nervous! Anyone would be in that situation!")**_

Hotaru bent down to check you; I don't really know when she learnt first aid or whatever but anyway.

"He's fine, he's just sleeping. Someone should take him to his house though…" she instructed coincidentally she was looking at me.

"Wha-? Why do I have to-?"

"Imai-senpai is hosting the party, she cannot leave… As for the others, well…" Youichi looked at me like saying 'do you honestly expect any of these guys to drive?'

I sighed and lead the way to my car while the Tsubasa-senpai and the others carried you making comments like…

"Looks like the party is over for Cinderella…" or "Well at least his carriage is gonna be driven by princess charming…" and "Dude, isn't Cinderella a girl? I mean doesn't that make Natsume a lesbian or Mikan gay? Ugh I'm confused…"

I'd already left Mochu's house when I remembered I didn't really know where yours is. Luckily you woke up about that time and after getting lost on the way for following your directions we arrived safely after like half an hour when it could have taken like ten minutes.

You got out of the car and I helped you walk up to a huge gate with a gigantic golden "H" in the middle. I looked around and asked "Is this your house?"

You placed your hand on a button and mumbled "S'mee! Open!"

The gates started parting immediately after that and we had to go back to the car and drove to the main house.

_**("You never told me you were a rich kid by the way…" she says accusingly.**_

_**He shrugs "You never asked, I thought it figured considering I go to Alice Gakuen and**__**what with**__**my last name being Hyuuga and all…"**_

_**Mikan gasps "You mean your dad is THE Hyuuga Satoshi 'the best businessman of the 21st**__**century' as my dad puts it?"**_(A/N: So I don't think Natsume's dad name is ever mentioned or not that I could find, so I just invented it… If anyone knows anything about it let me know…)

_**"Well when you put it that way…"**_

_**"So did it never occur to you to tell me this?"**_

_**"Nope… I didn't think it really mattered…" she sighs in response.)**_

So we were walking to or more like trying to find our way to your room, which you couldn't really tell where to find and we somehow ended up in the kitchen.

After rummaging through some of the shelves I found a mug and poured you some coffee so that you'd pull yourself together and I could drop you off safely and leave.

A couple of minutes later when you finally recovered some of your senses you started talking.

"Ugh I really hate coffee… Tastes like old shoe or something…"

"Drink it so that I can go home." I said bored. You looked at me and sighed.

"Thanks for bringing me here…" you said staring at the table.

"Sure, no prob-."

"_Natsu-chan?_ Is that you?" a woman voice sounded from the other side of the door. "Natsu-chan?" she said opening the door and smiling widely when she saw you. She quickly ran to hug you. "I thought you wouldn't be back from Osaka till tomorrow!"

_**("Oh right, I was supposed to be in Osaka with Ruka…"**_

_**"Yeah well I kind of forgot about that…" Mikan answers and smiles guiltily.**_

_**Natsume's eyes widen "What did-?")**_

"Ah! Yes, we came back early because Ka- Natsume-kun said he was feeling a bit homesick…" I told her and she looked at me confused.

"Oh my, I heard Natsu-chan was on a trip with a friend, not his _girlfriend_!" she hugged me tightly "It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Natsu-chan's mother, Yukiko." She said taking a step back, holding my hands and analyzing me with a huge smile on her face. "You are such a pretty young lady, I'm so happy Natsu-chan found a pretty girlfriend… And look at him, he looks so handsome!"

_**("You told my mom I went with YOU to Osaka? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!"**_

_**"I'm sorry! I forgot all about it!" she says clasping her hands together in front of her face.**_

_**"Why didn't you tell her you aren't my girlfriend?" he asks pissed.**_

_**"Well, it's not like I didn't try!")**_

"Oh no, I'm not his-."

"What might your name be dear?" she asked me smiling even more.

"Ano, I'm Sakura Mikan, but I'm not-."

"What a pretty name Mi-chan!" She hugged me again.

"Yes, but what I'm trying to say is that I'm not-." I tried to explain but she kept interrupting. I guess I know where you get that from.

Her eyes softened as she looked at you and smoothed your hair gently with her hand. "I guess you won't have to worry about that Luna girl anymore Natsu-chan… Aren't you glad?" a small smile forming on her lips.

"Excuse me but, who exactly is Luna?" I asked intrigued.

"Koizumi Luna is Natsu-chan's fiancée…" she stated rather sadly "But since he already has a girlfriend he doesn't have to worry about that anymore…" and she smiled

_**("Care to explain Kazume?" she asks raising an eyebrow.**_

_**"Oh yeah, Koizumi Luna… Weird girl… I met her when I was a kid. She's the daughter of some company's chairman and often came to my house with her dad." He says trying to remember.**_

_**"So? How did she become your fiancée then?" Mikan asks interested.**_

_**"Well, she was this spoiled selfish brat and decided that she wanted to marry me when we grew up because she said I 'had cute eyes'. My dad was thrilled with the idea and I hated it… She moved to America some years ago and I told my father to forget about the whole engagement thing. Suffice is to say that he refused to and told me that unless I was planning to marry someone else, a girl up to HIS standards he wouldn't." he sighs deeply.**_

_**"Wow, arranged marriages still exist?" she asks almost laughing.**_

_**"Shut up… it's not funny." He says glaring at her.)**_

Well anyway obviously I was very surprised by this but considering what your mom had said I thought best not to tell the truth just yet and decided to change the subject quickly. I smiled politely and told her I'd take you back to your room so that you could rest from the long trip.

"Um where exactly is Ka- Natsume-_kun's_ room?"

"Oh, just go up the stairs, it's the big door to the left…" she explained "And Mi-chan… You should just call him Natsu-chan; you're his girlfriend after all." She winked and left the kitchen.

I had to wake you up because you had apparently fallen asleep and I led the way. When we finally reached your room and you were safely lying on your bed I started making my way out when you mumbled something about your clothes being wet and that reminded me of the pool incident.

I had to help you slip off your clothes and under the sheets. Since you didn't say anything else I made my way to the door.

"Wait, don't leave me alone…" you said raising a hand "Won't you stay with me for a little while longer?"

I sighed and decided against my better judgment to stay. I took a big t-shirt and a pair of shorts from your closet and changed into them in the bathroom, leaving my wet clothes aside.

I lied on the bed for a while and I eventually fell asleep.

* * *

**(Normal PoV)**

"So you mean nothing really happened?" he asks shocked "You had me worried all this time for nothing? Do you have any idea how worried I've been?"

"Well, I never really said that something had happened…" she answers laughing.

"YES YOU DID! YOU SAID THAT…" he stares at her for a second and then sighs "No, you didn't…" he says shaking his head.

"I should probably get back home, and you should get some more rest..." she places a hand on his shoulder and smiles. "Don't worry I'll let myself out…" she slowly stands up and suddenly the door bursts open.

"NATSUME! WHAT'S THIS NONSENSE YOUR MOTHER TOLD ME ABOUT YOU HAVING A GIRLFRIEND?" Natsume's father bangs the door loudly behind him as he walks over to them and eyes Mikan.

"T- tou-san (Dad)…" he stutters.

"Is this her?" he asks pointing at Mikan "A rather plain girl if I must say so myself…"

Mikan scowls. "Excuse me but I'm-."

"So unladylike, coming to a house in the middle of the night and talking when you're not spoken to before… And look at those clothes and that hair." He turns his gaze to his son. "Natsume, this is unacceptable, this girl is not good enough to be in the Hyuuga family…" Mikan just stares at him gawking; each word he says is like a stab to her pride. "You are to marry Luna and that's definite."

"I already told you I'm not gonna marry her! And even if I didn't have a girlfriend I still wouldn't!" he says standing up.

"You don't have a say in this Natsume, it's already been decided that you shall marry Luna…" he looks at him up and down "Put some clothes on Natsume. We'll talk about this during breakfast." And with that he storms out of the room.

"IT'S MY LIFE AND I DON'T HAVE A SAY IN IT?" He yells at the closed door.

"Unforgivable…" Mikan says through gritted teeth. "UNFORGIVABLE!" she repeats louder. "No one calls Sakura Mikan plain and mocks her hair and lives to tell the tale! I'll show YOU who Sakura Mikan is, old man!" she shouts.

"I beg to differ but I did mock your hair and-."

"SHUT UP! Unless you have a death wish…" she says glaring at him. "Kazume! We're gonna show that old man not to mess with me… err YOU anymore…" she states in a commanding tone.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Go get dressed, as from today, and as far as your dad is concerned, we are a couple very much in love. Once we step foot out of this house you can do whatever you want, go chase after Hotaru or whatever I don't really care…" she says as she heads to the bathroom.

"But I-."

"NO BUTS KAZUME! I'm doing this for you so that you can forget about that Luna person so just-."

"No you're not, you're doing this for your own pride!" he retorts.

"Same difference, it's gonna help you too anyway, so just go with it… Nobody from school has to know about this so it'll be fine…"

"I don't know I mean, deceiving my dad to break my engagement with a girl I hate to make him feel like a complete moron and admit he was wrong…" he thinks for a while.

Mikan looks at him disbelievingly.

"Let's do this!" he finally shouts and they both exchange evil grins.

After an hour or so of dressing up till perfection, Mikan is finally ready to meet Natsume's dad once again. She had to borrow some of his little sister's clothes and they had to explain the whole incident with Mikan's before Aoi decided to even let her inside her room.

Mikan checks herself in the mirror one last time. Thankfully Aoi even though she is one year younger than Mikan, is her same size. She is now wearing a simple baby-pink, knee-length, simple yet elegant, strapless dress, a pink lace tied on her hair and pink slippers.

She decides not to wear to much make up and simply applies some lip-gloss, not wanting to ruin the innocent image she was trying to give.

Natsume comes into Aoi's room not long after that.

"Took you long enough to get ready…" he snorts.

"Rome wasn't built in one day…" she answers still checking herself out in the mirror.

"You took like five minutes to get ready for Mochu's party though…"

"Yeah but this is far more important than that!" she says finally turning to look at him.

"What, impressing my parents?" he asks cocking an eyebrow.

"Nope… Revenge…" she says smirking.

Natsume sweat drops and leads the way to the dining hall. "I don't think that makes me feel any better…"

Mikan runs a little to catch up with him and clings on to him grabbing his arm tightly, he shudders but keeps walking.

* * *

**A/N:** I hope you enjoyed this chapter… I couldn't bring myself to make Hotaru be the one with Natsume in his room… It just couldn't be…

**To be continued…**


	12. Decisions

**A/N:** Hope you like it!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gakuen Alice or any of its characters…

**Chapter 12 Decisions.**

**(Normal PoV)**

After a short while of walking, they reach a closed door, Natsume extends his hand to turn the knob and open it but Mikan stops him. He looks at her confused.

"Before we go in, we must elaborate a battle plan…" she says.

"It's not like we're going to war or something, you know?" he answers warily, already wanting this whole 'couple-very-much-in-love' deal to be over with.

She glares at him "Indeed… This is far worse than war…" she smirks "If we're going to do this, we must to do it right… I will not tolerate half-assed acting. If that old man notices any kind of weakness he will not hesitate to crush you. Believe me …"

"He's my dad, he isn't gonna try to kill us..."

"I didn't say 'kill' I said 'crush' baka…" she tells him angrily "This 'war' is all about exhausting your enemy physically, mentally and emotionally. If we accomplish to crack the old man, we win. We gotta crush him, squash him! If not for your sake then just for mine! We will make him get down no his knees and beg for forgiveness!" she says shaking a fist in front of her head, fire burning in her eyes and an evil grin plastered on her face as she pictures Natsume's dad on his knees begging.

"Umm…" he interrupts her in the middle of her fantasy placing a hand over her fist and lowering it to her side. "It is still my dad you're talking about…"

"So?" she asks rising an eyebrow, he just sighs. "Like I said, that dinning hall is the battleground, we MUST look convincing; otherwise we'll be found out…" she explains. "And by NO means must you take seriously anything I say, but you will have to play along… This is a battle I'm not about to lose, got it?"

"That's why I said it's my dad you're talking about!" he repeats loudly, but not enough for the people on the other side of the door to hear.

"I don't care whether it's your dad or the queen of England! He stomped on MY pride and I'm gonna make him regret it." She says clenching her fists. "As soon as we go in you'll pull a chair for me and after I've sat down you'll take a seat next to me. You can't-."

"Why? It's not like-."

"BECAUSE! Can't you just do as you're told without arguing for once?" she says rather irritated.

"I've been doing what you tell me to do for two days now! One would think I can do as I please now that I'm in MY house…"

"C'mon it's the last thing I'll ever ask you to do, just play along as the nice loving boyfriend and we'll both walk out of there triumphant…" she says making puppy eyes.

"I don't know I mean, it's also my mom and sister in there and-."

"What, you're having second thoughts now of all times? You could've chickened out before, not NOW that we're standing a door away from your family!" she tells him pointing at the big white door.

"You would've made me do it anyway, no matter if I had refused two hours ago!" he says sounding a little pissed.

"Well, you may be right but-."

"MAY? There's no _MAY_. I am right, you always do that! You-."

"Look, just think about it as extra payment for our deal! I've figured just helping me pass math isn't enough for all I've done…" she says nodding agreeing with herself.

"Now hold on there, the deal was I just had to teach you and that was it! You can't just add new stuff to a contract just like that!" he retorts slightly rising his voice.

"Well that's the great thing about verbal deals, I didn't sign anything so I can change it as much as I like!" she says matching the volume of his voice.

"It's not fair! If you can add stuff I can too!" he rises his voice above hers.

"This whole 'couple-in-love' deal is gonna help you get rid of that Luna person, is it not? That makes us even! You get your freedom and I get my revenge!"

"Yeah, revenge on my DAD!" he snaps.

"So what? It could've been anyone else! You are gonna help me with this **Kazume** or I swear to god I'm going to make your life a living hell!" she yells glaring at him and poking his chest with her index finger.

**-**_**Meanwhile**__**on the other side of the door-**_

"_He's still my dad __**Minako**__!"_ Natsume's shout sounds from the hallway.

"_WELL IT'S NOT MY FAULT THAT HE IS AN ASS!"_Mikan's retort comes instantly after.

Natsume's dad right eye twitches and the hand he's using to hold his teacup starts shaking.

Aoi closes her eyes and sighs after taking a sip from her tea. '_Baka…'_ she thinks.

Yukiko smiles and starts laughing a little to ease the tension. "Young kids sure are energetic in the morning…" she says pouring some tea.

"_IT'S NOT LIKE IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD TO HAVE SOMEONE CALL YOU UGLY!"_Natsume shouts back.

"_UGLY! AHH MOU! I'LL SHOW YOU UGLY! I'M GONNA PUNCH YOUR FACE SO HARD NOT EVEN YOUR MOM WILL RECOGNIZE YOU!"_ The girl's high-pitched scream comes, followed by a very loud -_THUD_-.

"Enough of this foolishness!" Satoshi says slamming the table with his fist.

_**-Back to Mikan and Natsume-**_

He's lying on the ground with a very fierce-looking Mikan on top of him, holding a fist in front of his face and holding his shirt collar with her free hand. His eyes shut tightly waiting for the impact.

And he waits…

And waits some more…

…

After a couple of seconds of lying there, he pries one eye open to see what's wrong and finds a wide-eyed, motionless, gaping Mikan staring to the left, her arm hanging loosely on her side.

He looks to the same direction and finds his family sitting at the long table all looking at them.

'_Busted.'_ is the only word that comes to his mind as he stares back with his trademark lame-gawking face.

Aoi with her elbow placed on the table and her hand covering her face, shaking her head slowly to the sides.

His dad standing up, a fallen chair behind him and his fist slammed on the table, and his mom smiling sweetly and sipping tea every once in a while.

"_Snap out of it."_ He whispers to her. Mikan still doesn't move. "_Hey ugly!"_ he whispers again. She frowns and turns to glare at him quickly shutting her mouth as she catches a glimpse of his family staring at them, her fighting spirit vanishing completely.

Natsume smirks and they help each other stand up. After dusting her clothes she fakes a big smile and walks over the breakfast table. '_So much for a good second impression…'_ she thinks not daring to say a word after such an entrance. '_There goes my whole battle plan down the drain… stupid.'_

Taking in her surroundings as she walks Mikan notices a big chandelier hanging from the ceiling being the only thing lighting the room. The huge windows covered by long thick curtains preventing the daylight from getting into the room. She figures that it might as well be midnight and no one would notice if it weren't for the big grandfather clock at the far left end of the room.

The table is beautifully set, a bright white tablecloth covering it and flowers as the center piece and many sorts of different foods and... '_For four people..._' she notices rather annoyed, and spares a glance at Natsume who immediately understands what she wants to say.

He turns around to face one of the maids and motions her to set another chair and dishes. The maid quickly steps into the kitchen and Natsume walks over to a chair and pulls it backwards for Mikan to sit.

At first she looks at him surprised but when she remembers what she'd told him a while ago, she shrugs the warm feeling in her stomach telling herself he's just doing as he was told. She smiles courteously mouths a 'thank you' and sits down, soon followed by Natsume who sits beside her.

Truth is he wasn't acting. Even if she hadn't anything back in the hallway, he would have let her sit before him, not because he's a gentleman and would've done that for any girl, on the contrary he would've just sat down and waited for any other girl to solve the problem on her own. But his body sort of moved out of its own will. He actually forgot everything they'd talked about the minute he saw his family staring at him.

The maid comes rushing back to the room and places a cup and some other things for Natsume to eat, bows and leaves. '_So far so good…'_ he thinks as he looks around the table. His father already sitting down, and now glaring at Mikan, Aoi just ignoring everyone and eating her breakfast, and his mom is still smiling and drinking tea.

The atmosphere becomes tense, and Yukiko is the one to break the silence.

"So… Mi-chan, where did you and Natsu-chan meet?" she asks not meaning to cause any harm, but what she doesn't know is that such an innocent question had not been taken into account in Mikan's 'battle plan'.

Building up a little courage and unwilling to give up yet, Mikan decides this is the best opportunity to crush Hyuuga Satoshi, and probably the last one she'll get. She places her hand on top of Natsume's and smiles a little at him, making his dad growl lowly.

Resisting the urge to laugh out loud she answers. "Oh, we are classmates so we met at school last year. You can say we've been friends since then…" she says, her smile widening by the second.

'_Such a good actress…'_ Natsume thinks.

"I never heard Natsume speak of any friends. He always complained about hating EVERYONE at school." Satoshi points out in a threatening tone, like telling her he already knows what she's up to.

"How would you know? You hardly ever talk to me at all…" Natsume quickly cuts in to prevent Mikan from falling into his trap; he knows his dad doesn't know anything, at least not for sure.

As the look on the oldest Hyuuga's face changes to one of discontent Natsume smirks and enjoys the first time he really stuck up to his father and returns Mikan's hold on his hand, making him even madder.

"I'm sorry; maybe it wasn't such a good idea for me to come after all… I'm just a bother, aren't I?" Mikan says trying to look hurt.

"You think?" Satoshi snorts.

"_Anata!_"(A/N: Means darling, dear...) Scolds Yukiko. "Mi-chan don't worry, it's a pleasure to finally meet Natsu-chan's girlfriend." She says trying to comfort her.

"No, Yukiko-san, I think it's best if I-." she stands up slightly.

"Mi-chan, please sit down… I don't want you to feel bothered by this childish husband of mine… You're more than welcome here." She tells her smiling. "Please have a cup of tea at least." She says pouring a cup for her.

Mikan gladly takes it and smiles '_Good, I got the mother handled, now for the daughter…'_ she thinks as she sips from her cup. "Aoi-chan, I'd really like to thank you for lending me these clothes, you have impeccable taste if I may say so myself…" she says turning to the little sister.

"My grandma bought those, I hate Barbie clothes…" she answers plainly not even sparing her a glance. Her father smiles proudly at her.

"Now, Aoi-chan shouldn't you be more polite to our guest?" her mother says. She just shrugs.

'_So __t__his one takes after her father…'_ she puts on her best smile and tries again. "You go to our school too, ne Aoi-chan? I heard from _Natsu-chan_ that you're a freshman at Alice Gakuen…"

Natsume shudders when he hears her call him '_Natsu-chan'_ but when he sees his father twitching he lets it slip. '_How did she even know that? I never even told her I had a sister…'_ he thinks confused but doesn't say anything.

Aoi nods once.

"You must be You-chan's classmate then, correct?" she asks attempting to start a conversation.

"Who?" She says looking at her plate.

Mikan's smile wavers a little. "Hijiri Youichi, don't you know him?"

"Oh… yeah, Mr. I'm-too-good-to-talk-to-you, right?" she says stabbing a piece of cake with her fork.

"I don't think he's-."

"No wonder you're friends, I guess all of you self-centered bastards at school have to stick together right?" she asks stuffing her mouth with cake.

Mikan glares at Natsume '_Is this what he teaches his little sister?'_ She thinks.

"I'm really disappointed in you Onii-chan. To think you of all people would end up with a girl like her…" Aoi says looking at her brother. "Look what she's done to you; she's turned you into one of them!"

Satoshi grins but says nothing; he just sits back and enjoys the show.

'_So_ _h__e's gonna let the little girl do the dirty work for him!'_ Mikan thinks as the older Hyuuga's strategy becomes evident to her.

Natsume stares at her awestruck. He knew he'd told his sister how much he hated most of the rich bastards at Alice Gakuen but… he didn't know she was so much like him. Had they been in a different situation he would've probably been proud, but right now he felt like strangling her.

"Well, people change." He finally says.

"You didn't change. You let _**her**_ change you. Miss. Popularity of all people! Even though you always said that-." Natsume quickly interrupts her sentence before she gets to say anything else.

"Look you're my little sister and I care for you a lot, but this is my life, and neither you nor _**anyone**_ gets to tell me what to do with it." He emphasizes the 'anyone' while he looks at his father.

"Like she does?" Aoi points at Mikan.

Mikan gasps. '_Oh no, I knew it'd come down to this.'_ She curses inwardly.

Natsume freezes.

'_She's right._' He thinks as he remembers all the times he's followed Mikan's orders for the past couple of days. He isn't really sure why, but there's something about her that makes people obey her, but what?

For some reason he remembers that day at the mall when he was talking to Tsubasa and Youichi.

"_Honestly, why do you guys do what she tells you? Normally leaders have higher IQs than their followers, not the other way around."_ The words he'd told them that day echo inside his head.

'_What is she some kind of undercover genius?'_

He's already lost count of how many times he heard her say the words "You don't have a say in this" or "Do as you're told" in the past couple of days, and yet he can't even remember one time he did what he wanted to do.

Yukiko's seemingly eternal smile drops.

Satoshi grins triumphantly as he watches his son's face turn to one of anger. _'Leave it to a girl to crush another.'_ He thinks rejoicing in his certain victory. '_She's __n__o match for a Hyuuga as I thought…'_

'_Game over.'_ Mikan tells herself as she watches the youngest and oldest Hyuuga grinning. How had it come down to this? Her plan had completely backfired. Had she underestimated the old man?

No, that wasn't it… She knew all too well who she was up against.

Had she overestimated herself then?

No! That wasn't it either… She also knew her limits.

Then what?

What was the reason for her whole plan to have gone so horribly wrong?

It was the girl she concluded.

That little brat was ruining everything. If she hadn't been there none of this would've happened. Now here she was, sitting quietly, surrounded by a very pissed Natsume, a grinning Aoi, a shocked Yukiko and an ecstatic Satoshi. A heavy silence takes over the room.

Mikan lowers her head. She was at a complete loss, she knew she could handle one Hyuuga, but two was apparently too much even for her. Revenge was completely out of the question now; she had been completely humiliated TWICE. And right now she felt like she was completely alone in a huge dark room, surrounded by thousands of horrible faces laughing at her.

It was middle school all over again; the only difference was right now she didn't have Hotaru to comfort her and tell her it was going to be alright (although she knew it wouldn't.)

No.

Right now, she was completely

Alone

That dreaded feeling of loneliness struck her for the first time in many years. That horrible knot in your stomach that you get when you know you're not wanted, that everyone would be better off without you there.

All this time, the only reason she'd been able to step up to the world and say "Back off you are in MY way" to practically anyone was because she knew for a fact that if something went wrong she could always count on her real friend's support. Because she knew she would always have someone there for her to help carry the weight on her shoulders.

But now that she had to carry it on her own, now that she had to stand on her own two feet, now that she needed the strength to step up to the world on her own, she finally realized she didn't have such strength, she'd never really had it.

She was

Weak

All this time she had just been relying on someone else. And right now, the only person she could rely on had abandoned her, because of her own mistakes. Because she wanted to prove to him that she was strong, independent, and most of all because she wanted him to respect her in a way; to prove to him she was someone that… well… she really wasn't.

He probably hated her right now she figured. He hadn't realized that she'd been manipulating him like a puppet up till now. But now that Aoi had rubbed it in his face…

'_He can't be dumb enough not to notice that…'_

That she'd been doing to him the exact same his father had all these years, the same thing he despised him for.

Suddenly it hit her like a ton of bricks falling on her head.

She was no different from Hyuuga Satoshi, crushing other people just for her own selfish wants. In fact she was here right now for that reason, Natsume was just a mere pawn in her plan, like everybody else in her life, pawns, all of them…

Ever since she'd become "Minako" (she chuckles bitterly for thinking that) the rest of the world stopped mattering to her, it was all about herself. And she didn't care how many suffered along the way for her to reach the top.

And honestly speaking she didn't care one bit because she had decided that she didn't.

She had convinced herself that she didn't.

But now, looking back on it she felt pretty bad.

I mean she had even sold her own best friend off to Natsume just because she needed to pass math for crying out loud!

'_What kind of best friend does that?'_

And now she couldn't even-.

'_Oh no.'_ Mikan shuts her eyes tightly as a nostalgic hot feeling stings her eyes.

Tears

'_I promised I wouldn't.'_she scolds herself '_I won't cry anymore!'_ her hands slowly curl into fists.

As her feelings overwhelm her; she remembers that promise she made with Hotaru all those years ago.

**-Flashback- (10 years ago)**

A muddy six year-old Mikan is crying on the grass hugging tightly a torn dirty doll. Three kids standing in front of her laugh, and one of them says "That's what you and your ugly doll get for being ugly!"

Suddenly a rock flies at his head "If you know what's best for you, you'll leave that girl alone." Hotaru's says glaring at them.

The three look at her for a second and walk away muttering something like "Not worth it."

When she sees her best friend, Mikan starts crying even more. "Hotaru, Hana-chan is…" she says showing the doll to her.

"You won't solve anything by crying…" Hotaru answers taking the broken doll from Mikan's grasp. "It's alright; I'll fix her for you." She gives Mikan a tissue. "Now wipe those tears and blow your nose, you look 60 percent uglier when you cry."

Mikan stares at her friend and smiles weakly "Arigato Hotaru! You really are my best friend." She says trying to wrap her arms around the dark-haired girl.

Quickly pushing her away she says "You can't cry over such small things baka."

Mikan nods "I won't, I want to be strong like Hotaru, that's why I won't cry again. I promise!" she says whipping her tear stained face and smiles widely.

Hotaru shows a small smile and opens her arms "Come here baka…" she says and Mikan quickly runs to her and hugs her tightly.

**-End of flashback-**

And she hadn't cried again since that day.

But Hotaru wasn't here to comfort her now.

A stray tear falls on Mikan's fist and she clenches her teeth. Nobody even seems to notice she's crying, or maybe they do but don't really care.

How much time had it been since she got lost in her thoughts anyway? Maybe it'd just been a second, so they couldn't have noticed…

Natsume keeps replaying the past days on his head. He really should be very pissed, but for some reason he isn't. Aoi was certainly right, Mikan had been controlling every aspect of his life, but it wasn't like he couldn't "chicken out" (as she put it) anytime.

_**HE**_ had decided to let her do this to him, it was _**HIS **_choice. Of course it hadn't gone exactly as planned, this couple thing wasn't part of the plan but… boy did he enjoy seeing his father so pissed off.

And having Luna out of his life forever didn't sound bad either. All in all he was pretty content, besides no matter how bitchy Mikan tried to be, he knew deep down inside she truly wasn't like that at all. Hell she was a nice girl, he had to admit it.

Speaking of which…

"_If that old man notices any kind of weakness he will not hesitate to crush you. Believe me …"_ Mikan's words repeat inside his head.

CRAP! He was being completely played!

'_Even Aoi is in this with him? What does she have against Mikan?'_ he thinks. That old man was playing dirty! Bringing his daughter into this!

'_Well if dirty is how you wanna play I c-.'_ turning his head to the side he notices Mikan shaking ever so lightly, fist clenched on her lap and a…

Tear?

'_Can't be…'_ he bows his head to cover it from his family's view and whispers lightly to her.

"_Giving up already? I thought this was a battle you weren't about to lose."_He smirks placing his hand on top of hers.

Her eyes widen and she blinks a couple of times trying to take in his words. She looks at him obviously confused. He winks at her and the corner of her lips curve slightly upwards. With her free hand she wipes the tears away and again puts up her best smile.

When they look up they realize that probably Natsume's family didn't notice anything because they all seemed oh so very interested in their food.

"_So what's your next battle plan general?"_Natsume whispers mockingly.

Mikan ponders on the possibilities for a second. "_Just go on your instincts from now on, and forget about the revenge. Let's just get your dad off your back with that Luna thing…"_Natsume looks at her completely astonished. _"Oh and Na-."_ (A/N: She's always being cut off when she's gonna say his name! Well, consciously gonna say it at least :P)

Satoshi suddenly stands up and smirks at Mikan, still convinced of his utter victory. "Now then girl I think it's time for you to-."

"It's Mikan dad…" Natsume interrupts him "Sakura Mikan." He finishes smirking.

"It doesn't matter. As I was saying I think-."

"Yes it does matter…" he says also standing up "Because…" he continues, his smirk widening every second "She's my girlfriend, so you'd better start being nice to her."

Mikan smiles and suddenly feels the urge to hug him, but fights it back. _'He's just acting, he's just acting.'_She repeats to herself trying to shrug off the need to wrap her arms around him.

Aoi drops her fork and gawks; this is the first time she's ever seen her brother act like this in front of her dad, it makes her somewhat proud she guesses.

His father shoots him the trademark Hyuuga Glare. "This is unacceptable Natsume, as your father it's my duty to decide what is best for you, and this girl certainly isn't."

"Her name is Mikan… and you get to decide nothing." he says returning the glare and starting an all-out staring competition.

"Natsume I'm your father and I say this girl is not good enough for you."

"How do _**YOU**_ know what's good enough for me? I say Mikan is the best thing I have in this rotten world no matter what you say."

Mikan starts blushing madly _'Acting Mikan, acting!'_

Natsume extends a hand to her signaling her to take it and stand up. She does and they both stand there hand in hand in front of Satoshi.

"Stop this foolishness at once Natsume, I know you don't love this girl-."

"Mikan… and I sure as hell love her. Do you have a problem with that?" he says pulling her closer to him.

"I will not tolerate your insolence anymore, you are my son and live under my roof and thus you must follow my rules-."

"Just say it; it's not a difficult name, Mi-kan." He says once again wrapping his arm around her waist.

"Natsume if you keep this up I'm afraid I'll have to-."

"What? Disown me? Kick me out of the house?" He pauses for a second thinking about his next move, his heart beating fast. "You know what?" he finally decides. "You don't have to, I'm leaving!" he shouts.

Mikan, Aoi and Yukiko gasp in perfect unison.

"That's right, you heard me, I'd rather be out of this house than listening to you another second!" he shouts.

"Nonsense! You don't have the guts to spend one week away from this house." Satoshi retorts daringly.

"Hmph... Just watch old man, when all of this is over _**YOU**_ will be down on your knees begging _**ME**_ to come back!" and with that he storms out of the room dragging Mikan with him.

"You are going to regret this Natsume! MARK MY WORDS!" Satoshi shouts at him before the loud -_BANG-_ of the door slamming is heard.

They keep walking down the hallway and suddenly come to a halt when they reach the stairs. Mikan looks at Natsume and giggles.

"What's so funny?" he asks laughing a little.

"Nothing… It's just…" she pauses and smiles "You learn pretty fast young grasshopper." She laughs.

"I don't know what you're talking about…" he says staring to the left. (A/N: Did you know that if you stare to the left as you speak it means you're lying?)

"Of course you don't…" she says rolling her eyes "When all of this is over you'll be begging? Sounds oddly familiar…"

"What? It was the first thing that came to my mind… It's not like I was copying you or anything." he says nervously.

"Sure you weren't… Geez, I didn't know you were such a hopeless…" she freezes for a second "… actor." She finishes wide eyed. '_So then… back there he wasn't just…'_

"Well sorry for not being a master liar like yourself… I can't act to save my own life…" he confesses looking confused as he watches Mikan's horrified expression. "Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?"

"Huh? Umm… No I just… Do you think I could maybe have my hand back?"

Natsume looks down to his hand and realizes he's been holding her hand since they left the room. He quickly drops it and blushes muttering an apology.

Mikan laughs and starts walking up the stairs. '_He wasn't just acting when he said he…'_ she turns around half way and flashes him a big smile. "Me too…" she tells him and continues towards his room.

'_You too what?'_ he wonders completely confused as he follows her up the stairs…

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks for all the very nice reviews I got, as always I'm really happy to read what you think about my story :D I hope you'll continue reviewing like always!

**To be continued…**


	13. Unveiled Secrets

**A/N:** Thanks for reviewing and adding to favorites and alerts! Love you guys! Hope you enjoy.

**Disclaimer: **So, again, it's that time of the fic to face the facts. I don't own Gakuen Alice… -_sigh-_

**Chapter 13 Unveiled Secrets.**

**(Normal PoV)**

"Are you really gonna go through with this?" Mikan questions for the hundredth time in ten minutes.

"I already told you I am! Stop asking!" Natsume shoots back.

There's a moment of silence as Mikan walks over to his desk and takes a look around picking up a magazine.

"Ne, are you really serious about this?" She asks as she flicks through it

"I can't very well chicken out _NOW_, can I?" He answers crossly as he throws some clothes and stuff into a suitcase.

"Alright geez… What's with the attitude?" she lies down on his bed, her legs hanging from the edge. "I'm just saying, I think you might have overdone it a little..." she adds curving her neck backwards to get an upside view of Natsume placing random items next to her.

He continues walking from the wardrobe to the bed but says nothing.

"I mean, I'm not your dad's number one fan or anything but… maybe you are taking this too far…"

Again she receives no reply.

"Besides you can always apologize and say that you were very pissed and you didn't mean it and then everything can go back to normal…" she continues. "It's not like he won't forgive you… He may be the devil incarnate, but he's still your dad." she says rolling onto her stomach. "Hey! Are you even listening to me?" she throws a pillow at him but misses for a few inches.

Natsume just ignores her.

"Okay so, this may not be my place to speak but-."

"Then don't!" he retorts sharply.

"I can't! Alright? I feel this is my entire fault; I don't want to see you fighting with your family just because of me!" she says sitting up on the bed. "No matter how awful your dad is he's still your dad…"

"Right, who was the one saying that we had to crush him no matter what just now?" he crosses his arms over his chest and stares at her.

"That was different…" She looks down at her hands.

"Really, how so?" he asks arching an eyebrow. She stays silent. "You see? There is no difference. You're just saying this because you feel guilty that I'm doing this for you. Well I've got news for you, I'm not." He resumes his packing.

"That's not-."

"Look, I had already planned to do this, you just -."

"I just gave you the final push you needed to fall off the cliff!" she suddenly interrupts him.

"Well that's not how I'd put it… I'm not falling off a cliff, I'm fine. No, I'm glad I finally did this. Now I won't-."

"What about your mom then? Have you thought about her or your little sister? Are you willing to abandon them too just because of some quarrel you're having with your dad?" she gets off the bed and walks up to him, her determined eyes never leaving his.

Natsume looks away. "It's not like I'll never see them again…" he defends. "Besides I've already made up my mind."

"You can't be sure of that… All I'm saying is why don't you take some time to chill out and think about it? And then if you still want to leave after that-."

"Why does it matter to you so much? If it's not guilt then what it that makes you so opposed to THIS in particular?" he points at the half empty suitcase.

"_Do you have any idea…?"_ she whispers staring at the floor. _"Any idea at all of what I'd give to be in your place?"_ she finishes clenching her fists.

"Why would you wanna be in the place of a person whose life is controlled by a father who only cares about money and a family who thinks money equals happiness?" he snorts.

"At least you have a family." she says gritting her teeth as if she were trying to swallow back her words.

Natsume jaw drops but he does nothing to conceal his surprise. "A- ah…" is all he manages to let out as he feels his mind go completely blank and finds himself at a loss for words. '_She always picks the best times to do this…'_ he thinks.

Mikan immediately regretting having ever said that smiles bitterly and shrugs. "Just forg-."

"DON'T…" he says raising his hand "…tell me to forget it. You don't say something like that and expect me to just pretend nothing happened."

"It's no big deal…" she answers plainly.

"You wouldn't be this upset if it wasn't." they stare at each other in silence. "There's no escaping now." He looks into her eyes, his expression softens. "You know you can trust me right?"

"God, I'm gonna regret this…" she says sitting down on the bed. "You might wanna sit down too…" she says and he takes a seat next to her. "This is something no one knows, not even Hotaru, so if you ever say anything I'm going to kill you." She states seriously.

"P- promise." He answers placing his right hand over his heart "Cross my heart and hope to die."

"How should I say this in a not so shocking way…" she asks herself "Perhaps I should start by explaining the obvious…" she says with a completely blank expression, earning a completely confused look from Natsume.

"What?" he asks, getting more and more confused each passing second.

Mikan places her hands on her lap, takes a deep breath and sighs. "Well as you probably already realized I…" she clenches the fabric of her dress and stares at her fists. "I don't have a father…" she pauses and looks at him to see his reaction to her words, none, not even a blink.

"…or a mother for that matter." She looks back at her hands. "I mean, I must have had them once upon a time but… not that I can remember."

Silence takes over the room once more as Mikan waits for a reply from him.

Okay, let's go back a bit to what Natsume was doing at the time she uncovered the truth.

He was shocked beyond words; that's for sure.

I mean who wouldn't be? It's not everyday that the most popular girl in school (whom you hated just two days ago and now is your friend, sort of) sits in your bedroom and confesses her deepest secret to you.

But that was just beside the point. Three questions almost automatically popped into Natsume's head the moment he heard her say she had no parents.

The first one was '_What made her think she had to keep it a secret?'_

The second was '_Didn't she always say that her__**DAD**__was the chairman of some major international company and whatnot?'_

And finally the third one was '_So who's taking care of her?'_

A billion more questions start running through his head, flooding his mind. Like, how come she could hide it this long from her best friend or anyone else for that matter? And would it be

rude to ask her all of the questions he had? Would she be upset if he did? The last thing he wanted was to disturb her anymore than she already was.

He needed to think his next course of action through. He couldn't urge her to tell him anymore, she was upset enough as it was. And if there was something he couldn't handle, that was a girl crying.

He had tried comforting Aoi once before and that hadn't ended really well. She ended up worse than she had begun and he felt guilty as hell so in the end he had to-.

Okay that was WAY beside the point.

'_Stop digressing!'_ he scolds himself mentally.

As the silence around them begins to get unbearable Natsume builds up a little courage and finally decides to do the only thing he considers neutral enough to do in a situation like this.

Mikan's eyes widen in utter surprise as he leans forward and holds her in a tight embrace whispering a soft '_I'm sorry'_ into her ear placing a hand on the back of her head and lowering it to rest on the crook of his neck.

Okay so maybe it wasn't the most neutral thing to do but… whatever. '_At least she's not crying.'_ He thinks to himself rather relieved.

Right, scratch that last thought.

Natsume suddenly stiffens at the realization that his right shoulder is slightly wet. '_Oh no…'_he starts cursing himself mentally for his stupid decision of such a stupid course of action when he feels Mikan's arms wrapping around him and sobbing ever so lightly (which he wouldn't have noticed had he not been holding her so close) and for a second there he forgets the whole personal space thing and feels the need to hold her even closer.

Mikan's hold on him tightens and she whispers a hushed "_why?"_

He blinks a couple of times "Why what?" he asks confused.

"_Why is it that you have this effect on me? Even though I promised I wouldn't cry_…" she finishes to herself.

"Why would you promise such a thing?" he places his hands on her shoulders and pushes her away slightly to get a look at her face.

"I have to be strong so I'm not a burden for everyone else. Crying won't solve anything that's why-."

"What do you mean it won't solve anything?" he frowns "Of course it will! If you don't cry when you're sad then eventually your feelings will overwhelm you and you'll explode when you least expect it." A small smile graces his face "And I wouldn't want to have you going berserk and attacking people…"

"Why not?" she asks sniffling.

"Because then I would have to restrain you and I wouldn't want to hurt you trying to..."

She returns his smile with a tiny one of her own. "Then you'd rather have me clinging on to you all the time crying and asking you to solve my problems?"

"Well, that's not what I mean…" he brushes a stray tear from her face with his thumb "You're the one who has to solve your problems, but if you ever feel like crying I can always lend you my shoulder to cry on. And of course if you ever need help with anything you can count on me to lend a helping hand…" he scratches the back of his head "You know, what I mean is that you should cry if you feel like it and then-."

"Decide on the best course of action when I'm not so hotheaded?" she finishes for him.

"Exactly." He answers grinning '_Unlike what I just did…'_ Natsume's expression becomes serious all of a sudden. "So… do you wanna talk about it or?"

Mikan shakes her head slowly. "But I will. It's probably better to let it all out now that I already started." she smiles "Besides, I wouldn't want to go berserk later on and hurt you now would I?"

"Then why do you hide it? I mean… even from your best friend… how-."

Mikan shrugs "I… didn't mean to do it… It sort of happened. When I was very little I lived with my Jii-chan. He was nice and all and… Maybe I should start from the beginning of the story rather than the middle…" she sighs.

"Are you sure you wanna tell me all this I mean-."

"You said you'd listen and lend a shoulder for me to cry on didn't you?"

"Yeah but I thought-."

"Then shut up and listen…" she says bluntly and he nods. "I'm not really sure if all of it is true, this is just what I was told…"

* * *

**(Retelling – brought to you by Mikan)**

I used to live with my Jii-chan (A/N: Her grandfather) when I was little, up till I was five. I hardly ever wondered about my parents back then. We didn't have too much money but we managed. We were pretty happy, at least I was.

But I guess happiness can't really last long.

The day I turned five, he started feeling very sick and they had to take him to the hospital. And when he was there lying on that hospital bed he decided to tell me about my parents.

"They were very nice people, and they loved you very much." He said weakly "Always saying how they wanted to help people in any way they could..." His expression turned very serious. "…always thinking about others instead of themselves, your dad usually got caught up in a lot

of trouble. Many said he was common thief, a low life. What did they know? If he'd had the money and chances all those fat businesspersons had he wouldn't have had to resort to stealing."

At the time I didn't really understand what he meant, but as I grew up I figured he was some sort of modern Robin Hood or something. Sounds like taken from a movie, doesn't it?

Anyway, I sort of didn't know what to say at the time.

"Mikan, your father was a hero. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise." He coughed and continued "Your mom Yuuka she told me to tell you that-." Suddenly he started coughing loudly.

"Jii-chan are you okay?"

He held my hand and said "… to tell you that she didn't mean to-." The choughs became more intense and I started yelling for help.

In a second a nurse came running into the room and I was pushed outside and the door was slammed in my face.

I started crying and begging to god that my Jii-chan would be alright. But that was just childish hope I guess…

Deep down inside I knew I wasn't gonna see my Jii-chan again, his smile, or be able to hold him or hear his voice ever again.

When the door was finally opened and I saw the doctor come out I felt for a second that maybe he had been saved. But when a nurse came to my side and kneeled to be at my eye level I knew exactly what she wanted to say.

So I ran away as far as I could get, never stopping to look back. I had nowhere to go, no one to turn to, and that was the first time I realized I was completely alone in the world. After I reached my house I couldn't open the front door, so I fell asleep on the ground.

_**(Tears start flowing from Mikan's eyes as she tells the story and starts shaking.**_

"_**If you don't feel like it we can stop here…" Natsume tells her brushing them away.**_

_**Mikan shakes her head. "You're the one who said it was alright to cry; besides no one else can see me..." she leans forward and holds him burying her face on his chest. "Just, let's stay like this for a second."**_

_**He smiles and smoothes her hair with his right hand while holding her with the left. "I don't mind but… wouldn't you rather use a tissue?" he teases.**_

_**She quickly pulls away and apologizes. Natsume scoots closer to her and pushes her into the same position.**_

"_**I said I didn't mind…" he repeats enjoying the feeling of the girl in his arms.)**_

The next morning, a social worker found me sleeping at the front door of my house. She took me to some orphanage sort of place. She said it would be for the time being until my "uncle" came back from some trip to god knows where.

He isn't really my uncle though, he's my dad's second cousin or something like that, or so I heard. But I was told he was the only family I had so it was either him or the orphanage, and considering he was filthy rich the social workers didn't really need to think about it.

A couple of weeks later I was taken to my uncle's house. I found out that he actually hated my dad with all his heart because he supposedly had stolen his "beloved Yuuka" from him and blamed him for corrupting her or something.

"Your father was just a scumbag he deserved to die that night when he was caught by the police trying to escape. But your mother was so devastated when that bastard died… she never got over it and ended up following his steps." He said blowing smoke from his cigarette at me.

"My dad was a hero! That's what Jii-chan said!" I cried.

He slapped me across the face "You will never mention them ever again in this house." He glared fiercely at me "The only reason I'm taking you in is to honor Yuuka's memory and that is all."

He kept glaring at me "You look exactly like her." He said "While you live in my house there will be rules you'll have to follow in exchange for me taking care of you." He said.

"First, you will live at the guest house that is a few meters away from the actual main house.

Second, you will not step foot in the main house unless you're told to.

Third, you will not tell anyone about you real parents or the fact that I'm not your real father; I don't want people knowing I'm bringing up the daughter of that scumbag."

He finished enumerating the rules and took another drag from his cigarette. "If you follow the rules and don't get on my nerves we'll get along just fine." And with that he left the room and told one of the maids to lead me to my new "room".

Like you said, a family could very well live in my room because it was actually designed for that in the first place.

I lived pretty much on my own just seeing the maids every once in a while to bring me food and ironed clothes and the driver that took me to school until I was old enough to drive.

I just got to step feet into the house when he needed to impress someone and said that I was his deceased brother's lovely daughter and that he had taken me in because he was so very magnanimous. I just nodded and smiled.

I met Hotaru when I was six, the first day of school she came to me and said. "Since we're both new to this school and have no other friends I think we should be best friends." with her usual stoic face. We've been best friends since then, but I never told her about my stepfather because it was the rules.

The day I turned ten, he called me to the main house and handed me a credit card and told me it was annoying to have to give me money. "So just use that." He said sounding bored and frustrated.

* * *

**(Normal PoV)**

"And my life has been pretty much what you already know since then…" she finishes and sniffles.

"So that's why you kept saying your "dad" this and that…" he says "What a scumbag…"

"Yeah well that scumbag is the one that's been taking care of me so I can't really do anything about it…" she says bitterly and hiccups.

"Well you can call him a scumbag at least when he isn't here…" he tries to cheer her up.

"Yeah well, he is but at least he took me in when no -_hiccup-_ no one else would, besides it's not like he was abusive or anything…" she tries to defend him (and hiccups)

"I don't think what he did is much better anyway... Going as far as setting that kind of rules…" he clenches his left fist.

"Yeah although I sort of -_hiccup-_broke the most important one of them just now…"

"You know, it's only breaking the rules if you get caught… As far as I'm concerned we were just talking about a new movie that came out last Saturday…" he winks at her and she smiles, and hiccups.

"Thanks, I think telling someone was a good idea after all. Though I always thought I'd tell Hotaru if anyone at all." She confesses smiling.

"You look cute when you smile with a tearstained face…" and he wipes the tears with a handkerchief he just pulled out of his pocket. "Although I think you look better when you're not crying…"

She stares at him and hiccups in response.

"That's starting to get annoying… You should hold your breath and it'll go away."

"No my face looks fun-_hiccup-_funnywhen I hold my breath and besides-."

He covers her mouth with his hand "Hold your breath." He commands.

"Erf ou I kzme!" she tries to complain and hiccups.

He rolls his eyes and sighs pulling his hand away.

"I can't -_hiccup-_believe you did that, it'll go away eventu-."

Natsume crashes his lips against hers and Mikan gasps and suddenly forgets how to breathe.

The door opens and Aoi's face pops out from behind it. "Onii-chan?" she ventures a little further into the room and gasps as she sees the scene developing in front of her.

Natsume and Mikan both gasp and turn their heads to stare at her, both their faces turning a bright red.

'_At least the hiccupping stopped…'_ they both manage to think.

"Umm… I'm sorry to interrupt Onii-chan but…" Aoi starts fidgeting with her fingers.

"What do YOU want? Did you come to kill Mikan on dad's behalf? " he spits venomously.

Aoi eyes get teary and she bows down "I came here to apologize to you. Both of you… Father told me that Mikan-san was just lying to you and was going to break your heart so I thought… I'm really sorry Onii-chan, Mikan-san!" she looks up to meet a smiling Mikan and a tired looking Natsume.

"Aoi-chan…" Mikan starts "No need for formalities, you can call me Mikan-chan. And it's alright; you were just trying to help your brother, no matter how mean he is to you." She says glaring side ways at him. "Beside no damage was done right?" she elbows him "RIGHT?"

"Yeah right..." he says resting his head on one of his hands.

Aoi's face lightens up and suddenly becomes completely serious. "Actually that's not the only reason I came by…" she says staring directly at Mikan.

Mikan swallows "W- what?"

"Mikan-s- chan" she corrects quickly "I came here to warn you about Luna…" she states bluntly.

"W- Warn about what?" she asks laughing nervously "What you're gonna say she's coming here to kill me or something? Like that can really happen…" she looks around the room for an answer "That can't happen… right?" she stares at the Hyuuga siblings wide eyed.

"Well I don't know if she'd go as far as killing but…" Natsume's eyes widen too and he perks his head up to stare at Aoi "Wait so that means she's-."

"On her way here…" the younger girl completes his sentence.

Natsume starts sweating. "When i- is she?" he asks the terror noticeable in his voice.

"That is…" Aoi closes her eyes "Apparently dad called her about twelve hours ago if not more and she was…"

"Save the explanation!" He shouts at his sister standing up. "When?" he asks again.

"About two hours if not less…"

"SHIT! We gotta get out of here!" he runs over to the wardrobe picks up a couple more things and resumes the long forgotten packing.

"So you're really going aren't you Onii-chan?" Aoi asks sadly.

He stops midway and turns to look at her. He walks up to her and hugs her. "I'm sorry." He says softly and backs away "But hey, we'll see each other at school everyday, and I'll come visit when dad's not around and you have my cell-phone number so we'll be in touch…" he grins.

"You can come visit whenever you want too Aoi-chan…" Mikan cuts in.

"What?" both Hyuugas turn to look at her shocked.

"Well you're gonna be staying at my place…" she says matter-of-factly "So I'm simply letting her know she can come anytime she feels like it…"

"Who the hell decided that?" he yells.

"Do you have any better ideas?" she asks raising an eyebrow. He shakes his head. "I didn't think so…" She says walking up to him "So it's settled then…"

Natsume sighs and continues his packing.

After about an hour or so of much giggling and gossiping about Natsume between Mikan and Aoi, the packing is finally done.

The trio starts walking down stairs with his bags and as soon as they reach the bottom a screeching voice is heard from the hallway.

"Natsume-kun I' m home!" Luna's high-pitched scream and some footsteps coming their way are heard.

Natsume starts panicking. "We have to get out of here before she sees us!"

"Aoi-chan you slow her down a bit we'll get out through that window." Mikan says pointing to a large window that leads to the front of the house where she can see her parked car. Aoi nods and after hugging her brother goodbye she runs to stop Luna.

"GO!" Mikan shouts at him as she takes one of the bags and runs over to the window, jumps out and reaches the car. They both get in panting and sweating. She quickly drives away and glances over at the mirror were she can see Natsume's family standing at the front door watching the car speed away. "You should wave goodbye to them…"

He opens the window shield on the roof of the car and pops out. "Bye mom, Aoi!" he says waving. "See you never again old man!" he yells at his father who's currently too busy fuming and screaming at Natsume to "GET BACK HERE BEFORE I KILL YOU!"

He gets back into the car laughing out loud and Mikan starts laughing too.

"His face was completely priceless!" he manages to say between laughs "I would do it all over again just to see that again!" he holds his stomach from laughing too hard.

"So what now?" she asks him.

"Um… I don't know, I haven't really thought about it…" he admits "But what does it matter anyway?"

"I think I could really use a shower and some sleep right now…" her stomach starts grumbling. "And some food too… I really couldn't eat anything during breakfast…"

"How does pancakes sound to you?" he asks staring at the road "Although it's probably already lunch time…"

"Hmm I think I could really use some of that soup you made me last time…" she answers smiling.

Natsume grins proudly "Soup it is then…"

* * *

**A/N:** So not much happened but we found out about Mikan's past, that's good right? I just hope you liked it anyway…

And there you go, Aoi is not an evil bitch, she just thought she was protecting her Onii-chan, so technically she's still nice :)

See you next time! Thanks for reviewing and all I really appreciate it!

**To be continued…**


	14. Undesired Encounters

**A/N:** Yay quick-ish update! Oh joy! Thanks everyone for reviewing!

**Disclaimer:** Ugh can't somebody else start doing this for me? I'm tired of facing the facts… I don't own btw.

**Chapter 14 Undesired Encounters.**

**(Normal PoV)**

"No! You're doing it all wrong! You gotta-"

"I'm doing fine! You multiply this 3 here and then you get the answer…" Mikan scribbles some numbers and letters down on her notebook.

"Yeah… 5 0… My, that makes complete sense!" Natsume rubs his temples and let's out a long sigh.

"Shut up! I did everything you told me and yet it came out wrong! Whose fault do you think it is?!" she tells him pointing an accusing finger at her math tutor sitting across the table.

"Do you honestly want me to answer that? Cause you're not gonna like the answer…"

"Well it's not that weird if you think about it…" she says tapping the end of her pencil on her chin.

"Course not…" he rolls his eyes. "Okay let's go over this again…"

"Forget it, I can't do it." She drops her head on the table. "I give up…" she finishes throwing her pencil against a wall.

Natsume picks it up and places it on the table. "Come on get up…" he grabs her shoulders and pulls her back so that she is sitting up. "You can do this just give it another try…"

"But it's too hard!" she whines.

"That's what she said."

Mikan stares at him as if she's just seen a ghost.

"What?" he asks blushing lightly.

"Did- did you just make a 'that's what she said' joke?"

"Is it wrong?"

"No…"

"Then yes I did…" he answers plainly.

She suddenly burst out laughing. "I never thought you were the type to make that kind of joke…" she says taking a deep breath to calm down.

"Great. Can we go back to math now?" he points at her incomplete work lying forgotten on the table.

"Fine" she answers scoffing.

After a couple of hours of writing, pencil-chewing, glaring, head-banging and sighing, Mikan suddenly stands up.

"I DID IT!" she shouts happily.

Natsume who's been half asleep for some time falls off his chair and quickly picks himself up to look at the now correctly solved math problems. He stares at her amazed for a second.

"I can't believe you actually did it…" he says smiling teasingly.

Mikan starts jumping up and down smiling widely "I did it! I did it!" she repeats constantly. She grabs Natsume's hands and forces him to jump around the room with her.

"Calm down" he tells her grabbing her shoulders to keep her still "We haven't finished yet…"

"Are you kidding? We've been studding for like a googol hours! "

"Well we've covered all you need to know for the test on Thursday so I guess…"

"You can do what you want… I'm gonna take a bath and then I'm going to bed…" she states and walks to the bathroom.

"I'll fix us something to eat, it'll probably be dinner time when you get out…" he sighs and walks to the kitchen.

"Sure…" she waves a hand behind her head dismissing whatever he said.

True enough, two hours later Mikan comes out of the bathroom, a long towel securely wrapped around her, and she sits at the table.

"I hope you like spaghetti…" Natsume's voice rings from the kitchen.

"Sounds good" she shouts back as she hears his footsteps approaching.

"It's not much but it's the only thing I could find I'll go buy some groceries tomorrow after school and- OH M'GOD WHY ARE YOU NAKED?!" he screams almost dropping the two plates on the floor but luckily managing to place them on the table.

"I am not naked." She says looking down at herself.

"Right, let me rephrase that. Why are you wearing no clothes?"

"Because I just came out of the bath…" She explains simply.

"Couldn't you throw some clothes on at least?"

"I didn't see the need to…" she shrugs and reaches forward to grab a plate and starts eating.

Natsume sits across the table and does the same, all the while staring at his food trying his best not to look at her but stealing an accidental glance every once in a while… (A/N: No matter what, he's still a healthy growing boy…)

"This really bothers you a lot" she breaks the silence as she finishes her dinner and heads to the kitchen to place the dirty dishes in the sink.

Still not looking up from his now empty plate he nods stiffly.

She walks over to him and leans down giving him a full view of her… um, cleavage. His face turns as red as his eyes and he starts fiddling with his fingers as he glimpses to the side and notices the smirk on her face (amongst other things he notices)

"Night _Natsu-chan_" she teases, places a quick peck on his cheek and walks to her room shutting the door behind her.

As soon as she's out of sight he runs into the bathroom turns on the cold water, rips off his clothes and without a second thought steps into the shower.

* * *

The next morning Natsume wakes up to the smell of fresh coffee and opens his eyes to find a tray with a steaming cup of coffee and a slice of chocolate cake.

After finishing up his breakfast (god knows where it came from) he gets out of bed and selects some clothes to wear from the stuff that Ruka picked for him a couple of days ago. He walks up to the bedside table, grabs the contact lens and earrings and walks to the bathroom. He washes his face and teeth and carefully puts the contact lens on.

Yawing he picks the earrings Mikan got him and places each one exactly where he had the previous time remembering he's supposed to have his ears pierced.

He checks his watch and notices he's already wasted twenty-five minutes just to get ready for school, not counting breakfast. '_Is morning routine gonna take this long from now on?'_ It usually took him like ten.

"Finally" Mikan exclaims as he comes of his room. "I thought you were never coming out Sleeping Beauty… Were the hotel premises to your liking your majesty?" she mocks him with a bow.

"Oh yes, very much. Breakfast was delightful, although I must say that the staff members are a little rude, one '_blondette'_ girl in particular…" he smirks.

"Oh I'm deeply sorry sir, we'll make sure she's ruder next time, we weren't aware she wasn't doing a good enough job…"

"We should probably get going… We'll be late otherwise." he says pointing at his watch.

"Whatever _HER_ majesty commands, your carriage is ready and waiting for you outside _milady_." She laughs and leads him to her car.

"I'd rather walk if you don't mind…" he says before they reach it.

"Huh? Why? I'm offering to drive you there. Why would you wanna walk?"

"I like the morning breeze?" he looks at her as if waiting for a reply to his question. "I don't know… I just enjoy walking in the morning…"

"Suit yourself… I'll see you at school then." She walks over to the driver's side.

"Actually…" he grabs her wrist to stop her "Why don't you walk with me?"

"Yeah sure… Me walk?" she snorts.

* * *

"I can't believe I'm actually walking to school…" she says irritated.

Natsume laughs at her tone.

"It's the first time in my life I'm actually doing this…" she admits annoyed.

He shakes his head slowly "Even though it's such a nice road from your house…" he looks around to take in the scenery. "I'm sure it's a lot nicer in spring though, with the trees and flowers in full bloom…" he starts smiling absentmindedly.

"Yeah well it's late November so no flowers, plus it's cold cause it's almost winter, so why would you wanna walk?"

"Why do you have to complain so much? It's not even that cold…"

"Well my hands are cold…" she glares at him.

"They say cold hearted people have cold hands…" he shrugs.

Mikan looks at her hands and rubs them. She looks at him with puppy eyes "That's not true, is it?" she asks sounding like a little kid when he's told that if he watches too much TV his brain will rot (which is so NOT true.)

Natsume smiles at her childish attitude and takes both her hands in his. "I don't really believe in that…" Nearing their hands to his mouth he blows softly "But you don't have cold hands anyway…"

They continue walking in silence until they reach the school. Mikan spots a blonde girl leaning against the school gates as they walk. The unknown girl glares dangerously at her and Mikan can't help but shudder.

When they are about to go in the girl suddenly walks up to them and prevents them from walking further. Shooting Mikan another death look she turns to Natsume and smiles sweetly.

"I've missed you so much Natsume-kun!" and with that she throws her arms around his neck and crashes her lips against his.

Mikan gasps in horror as she watches Natsume go into statue-mode. When the girl finally pulls away he stares at her wide eyed.

"Wha- wh- who are you?!" he asks completely dazed.

"You mean you don't recognize me?" she asks faking (poorly) to be hurt by his words.

"I- I'm sorry I didn't mean to hurt your feelings but… I- honestly have no idea who you are…" he confesses nervously.

'_You gotta be kidding me. He can tell when I'm lying but he falls for this girl's lie that easy?' _Mikan thinks getting a little pissed off_. 'Hold on a sec, this girl's voice…_' it suddenly hits her who this girl is_ 'Although I've never seen her before, there's a high chance she's…' _

"HEY YOU!" Mikan shouts at her "Get your filthy hands off of him…" she hisses.

The girl scowls and turns to Mikan "And who are YOU to say this to me?"

"If anyone should introduce herself here that is YOU not me…"

Natsume stares at both girls in shock not really wanting to get caught in this fight.

"My name is Koizumi Luna…" she spits venomously making Natsume flinch. "I'm Natsume-kun's fiancée." She finishes tightening her grip around his neck.

'_I knew it… Damn that old man, going as far as sending her here.'_ Mikan grits her teeth trying to think what to do next. "Well I don't give a rat's ass whether you're his fiancée or some crazy hag but I'm Sakura-."

"Mikan?" Hotaru's voice sounds from behind her. "What are you doing here? I thought you hated walking…" she walks to face her.

'_Just what I needed… Now I can't say I'm his girlfriend. How do I get rid of this hag now?_' Mikan puts up the best fake smile she can "Ho- Hotaru good morning, I just-."

Hotaru turns to stare at Luna "Who are you?" she asks with her usual bored tone.

"Well I'm Ko-." The blonde starts but is interrupted by the one who asked the question.

"Forget it, I don't care. More importantly let go off him." She says pointing at Natsume with her thumb. Mikan stares at her stunned.

"Who are you to tell me to let go?" Luna glares at her.

"I'm the most dangerous woman in the world, and right now I'm in a pretty bad mood because I just woke up, so if you piss me off, my face will probably be the last one you see in your life." She says, her expression never changing.

"Humph you don't scare me you psycho freak."

Hotaru remains unfazed as she starts pulling out something resembling a gun from her bag. Luna's eyes widen and she suddenly releases Natsume from her tight grip and backs away.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU CRAZY BITCH?!" Luna screams at her. Her high-pitched voice suddenly snaps Natsume back to reality.

"I thought you weren't scared." Hotaru smirks and pulls something that looks like a water-gun.

Mikan grins. "The infamous baka-gun…"

"You" Hotaru says looking at Natsume "Carry this." She places her bag and many heavy books on his hands.

"Why do I have to-?"

"Starting today you're my slave, you'll do as I say without a question."

"But-." He tries to defend.

"This is my revenge, be grateful I'm going easy on you. No complaining, you said so yourself."

Natsume sighs in defeat and nods, after all she is right. Forgetting completely about Luna's presence he starts following Hotaru to her classroom as she starts walking away.

"I don't want to see your face around here anymore." She tells Luna before she disappears with Natsume in a sea of people.

Both Mikan and Luna stare at their retreating figures in confusion and then at each other.

"What was that about?" the blonde speaks first.

"I'm not quite sure… I'm as lost as you are…" Mikan admits '_Why did she go that far? Was she actually jealous?'_ she giggles "Well that's a first…"

"When Satoshi-san told me that Natsume-kun had a girlfriend… I honestly thought she'd be cute, that girl isn't good enough for him…" she says glaring the way Hotaru just left.

'_She thinks they are a couple? Well that's good, maybe she'll give up now… That aside, has she ever really seen him before today? Going as far as saying that Hotaru isn't good enough for him…' _Mikan stares at her lost in thought_._

"What are YOU looking at wannabe Barbie?"

Dismissing the insult Mikan tries to calm herself down to get any information she can from this girl. "Say… Luna was it? You said you were that guy's fiancée but… don't you find his appearance rather different from before?" she tries to go the subtle way.

"What do you mean different?"

"Um… when was the last time you actually SAW him?" okay if subtle doesn't work…

"I haven't seen him since we were like four… why?" she asks suspiciously.

"Do you… remember what he looked like?" she picks each word carefully.

Luna ponders on it for a second before actually answering. "All I remember is that he had beautiful crimson eyes and that he was the only one who was nice to me…"

"So you had no idea until now what he really looked like and yet you self-proclaimed yourself his fiancée?"

"Who cares about what he looks like? If he's the same Natsume-kun he was back then I don't care about that sort of thing…" Luna answers truthfully, still glaring at Mikan though. "And I'm not gonna let a crazy bitch snatch him from me… Natsume-kun is MINE"

Okay, so aside from being a crazy spoiled brat, the girl had a point. '_I wonder if she'd seen him on Friday morning if she would have said the same though…'_ she chuckles.

"What are you laughing at wannabe Barbie? That's a warning for you too… Stay away from MY Natsume-kun…"

"Look who's talking about Barbie wannabe… At least I can pull it off hag…" Mikan smirks.

Luna scowls and grabs one of her pig-tails and pulls on it "Listen this is the last time I'm gonna say this… stay away from him, you and your psycho friend." She growls into her ear.

Mikan shoves her out the way "As much as I'd like to stay here and exchange compliments with you hag, I'm running late for class…" She walks into the school "And just for the record, I have no interest in '_your_ _Natsume-kun'_ …" she calls over her shoulder. (A/N: Yeah right she doesn't…)

* * *

When he enters the classroom Natsume is met by the stares of many of his classmates. Many start whispering behind his back stuff like.

"Who's the new kid?" or "Yeah I saw him at the party he's Hyu-something…" apparently not many of his companions knew about his existence before the make-over. Sighing he walks over to his seat and… well sits.

When the bell rings the rest of the students do the same and the blond teacher, Narumi, enters the classroom.

"Minna I have great news for you today!" he says smiling brightly at the group of bored looking teens. "Today we have a new student joining us!"

Natsume and Mikan suddenly become interested and stare at the teacher, both fearing the same thing.

"She's from America!" he says loudly trying to get the rest of the class to listen.

'_Oh no…'_ they both think.

"You can come in now!" he calls and the door slides open.

'_She couldn't possibly go as far…'_

"Class I'd like you to meet Koizumi Luna!" the teacher chirps happily pointing at the blonde girl standing next to him.

Natsume and Mikan simultaneously slap their foreheads '_I knew it…'_ (A/N: Gee we all did…)

Hotaru looks up from her textbook and stares at Luna with her blank expression, the other girl shoots her a death glare in return.

Luna turns her attention to Natsume and then back to the class, smiles and bows "My name is Koizumi Luna; it's nice to meet you all. I hope we can all be friends this year."

"Okay Luna-chan, you can take the empty seat next to Natsu- are? Where's Natsume-kun?" Narumi asks looking around the classroom.

Natsume raises his hand "Sensei…"

"Yes what is it? I'm sorry are you also a new student?" he walks over to Natsume and places his hands on top of his desk, leaning forward to be at his eye level. His eyes widen and he gasps "Na- Natsume-kun?" he asks disbelievingly.

Suddenly everyone turns around to look at him and he feels like a murder suspect in an interrogation room. He smiles nervously and nods once.

Narumi covers his gaping mouth with his hand "Oh my! I almost didn't recognize you! You look so… so…"

"Different?" Natsume provides for him.

"Well that's an understatement!" he quickly adds. (A/N: I'll correct for Narumi-sensei. That's the mother of all understatements!)

Gossiping can be heard around the classroom once again but this time it goes somewhat like this:

"There was a Natsume in our class?" or "Ah! I wish I'd noticed before so that I could compare now!"

This only proved his theory that he was indeed invisible… until now at least.

"Sensei… Do you think we could get on with the class? I feel rather awkward being put in the spotlight like this…" Natsume says nay pleads.

"Oh, right… Like I said Luna-chan you can take the empty seat next to Natsu- are?" (A/N: He just can't finish that one sentence…) He looks at both sides of the crimson eyed teen only to finally notice the two NOT empty seats next to him. "Ho- Hotaru-chan? Mikan-chan? Since when-?"

"He's my slave, so I gotta keep him by my side in case I need him…" Hotaru explains casually.

"He's my protégé, so I gotta keep him by my side in case something happens…" Mikan says glaring openly at Luna.

Natsume sweat-drops "Sensei please…" he begs looking at Narumi.

"Right, Luna-chan gomen ne… Sit anywhere you like…" he says walking to the front of the class "Let's continue with the class okay?"

Easier said than done…

In truth, the only one who continued the class that day was Narumi, the rest of the students were too busy gossiping or glaring or trying to become invisible once again, well in Natsume's case at least.

* * *

**A/N:** Well I don't have any thoughts on this one… It's like 5 a.m here and I have to be at school in like 3 hours so… yeah.

And if you have a minute leave a review with your thoughts on this one… I'm honestly feeling a bit uneasy about it… I feel like I'm sort of dropping information from the sky…

I dunno maybe I'm just feeling a little discouraged because I'm only giving my fic like a third of the time I used to give it…

I hope you still like it anyway…

Ja ne minna-san!


	15. Goodbye Natsume?

**A/N:** YAY UBBER HAPPINESS! I love you all for reviewing and adding me to favs and story alert and… and… and thanks a bunch.

**Disclaimer:** Here, take a look at my ID, is my name Higuchi Tachibana? NO! Then whatever gave you the idea that I own Gakuen Alice? Geez

**Chapter 15 Goodbye Natsume!?**

**(Natsume's PoV)**

Oh god, why did I have to stop being invisible at a time like this? Earth, please swallow me now, save me from this torment.

I'm starting to feel that my sharp sense of hearing isn't such a blessing after all, right now I'd give anything to exchange it with my sense of sight. I sink further into my seat and cover my ears trying not to hear the comments from my classmates.

"_Stop that" _I hear Mikan whispering "_You should be proud that everyone is talking about you, not embarrassed" _

She can say that because she's used to being the center of attention. I didn't even exist before today, of course I'm gonna be embarrassed to suddenly become one of the "top five most kissable lips" according to Usami and all the girls sitting around her.

How am I even supposed to concentrate on Naru's lecture like this?

Alright, just 20 more seconds and I'll be able to run out of here and back to my beloved solitude on the rooftop.

Just 11 more seconds…

10…

9…

What the!? Did I just see the damn clock go backwards!? Are you kidding me!?

COME ON RING THE DAMN BELL ALREADY!

3…

2…

1…

YES!! GOD BLESS THE MAN WHO INVENTED LUNCHBREAK!!

I quickly stand up and make my way to the door half trotting.

"And where do _YOU_ think you're going?"

I stop dead in my tracks as I see Andou leaning against the doorframe blocking my only escape route.

"_Sorry Natsume, but Mikan told me you might try to run away and said to stop you at all costs_." he whispers as he places one hand on my shoulder and drags me back into the room.

I glare at Mikan who smiles sweetly in return.

Ah geez, now I'm gonna have to have lunch with them, and everyone will be watching… namely me. God damn the man who invented lunch break…

I hear some of the girls greeting him as we make our way over to my desk.

"Andou-senpai it's such an honor to have you in our classroom!"

"It's so nice to see you!"

And then a loud high-pitched, "WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE LUNCH WITH ME?!" coming from every single girl at the same time. What is he like their god or something?

Well I _DID_ hear them saying something about him being in the "top five most kissable lips" list too… along with Ruka, Youichi and some guy called Sonou Kara- Kamame or something… Who's that anyway?

Anyway, I watch as he declines the girls' offers politely and finally we reach Mikan.

"Well, well… Seems I was right after all…" she says rising from her seat and picking up her bag. "Seems like lunch is on you today Tsubasa-senpai."

"Yeah, yeah, l know…"

"Aw you don't have to be such a sore loser Tsubasa-senpai. It was your idea to bet on it after all…"

When did they even have the time to make such a bet?

"Let's go, the others are probably waiting for us…" everyone starts following Mikan to the cafeteria except Imai, Luna and me. I'd forgotten she was like god at school. I gotta find out how she makes everyone obey her and then-.

Um is it just me or did the room just suddenly become colder?

I swallow hard as I feel a murderous aura from behind me. Against my better judgment I slowly turn around only to find Luna scowling at Imai apparently trying to murder her by just staring. If I didn't know by personal experience that that's impossible, I'd actually be worried…

Imai simply continues packing her bag and ignoring her. When Luna finally notices me looking at her she smiles brightly and runs up to me.

"Natsume-kun where you waiting to have lunch with me?" she says clinging to my arm. Out of nowhere a rubber flies at her and hits her square on the head.

"Head shot!" I shout enthusiastically but regret it immediately as she stomps on my foot. I mumble a 'sorry' and grin sheepishly and she just narrows her eyes at me. Man, it was just a reflex for playing too much Counter Strike; she doesn't have to be so pissed.

"What do you think you're doing?" Luna screeches as she turns to Imai.

"I think I told you to keep your hands off of him." She replies bluntly.

"He's my fiancé I can touch him anytime I want!" she points at Imai "You however psycho hag have no right to tell me to let go!"

"If you're his fiancée how come he never talked about you before? Have you even considered the fact that he doesn't want to be engaged to you?"

"What are you talking about? Of course he wants to! Natsume-kun loves me and I love him!" she turns to look at me with a pleading look in her eyes "Tell her Natsume-kun. Tell her you love me and want to spend your whole life with me." She stares directly into my eyes and looks like she's about to cry.

Oh no, I can't handle crying girls. Should I just nod and go along with her so she won't cry? But then I'll be stuck with her forever and I don't love her at all! I actually find her pretty annoying. The one I love isn't Luna, it's Mi-.

"Yeah, tell her." Imai cuts my thoughts short "Tell her how you're in love with someone else and went through a weekend of hell just to make her like you." Her lips twitch slightly upwards into a knowing smile.

I bite my bottom lip trying to think of a way to answer without taking any sides. "I…"

Both of them stare at me intently waiting for my reply, Luna's grip on my arm tightens as if she was trying to tell me that if I don't say I love her she'll kill me.

"The truth is I-."

"Oi! Natsume, Imai! Sakura told me to come and check what was taking you guys so long…" a voice calls from the door.

"RUKA!" I shout relieved as I push Luna away from me and quickly run to him not trying to mask my evident joy for finding an excuse to escape.

"Am… am I interrupting something?" he asks when he notices the murderous intent surrounding Imai and Luna as they stare at him.

"Not at all" I say as I start for the corridor.

He starts walking beside me "You coming Imai?" he asks over his shoulder.

She shrugs and follows us.

"_You owe me…"_ he whispers to me as we make our way to the where Mikan and the others are.

"_For what?" _

"_For saving your ass… You can thank me later."_ A smug grin makes its way to his face.

I stare at him in utter confusion.

"Ruka-pyon, we were waiting for you!" Mikan shouts as she waves her hand at him.

"Good morning Sakura, sorry to keep you waiting… I run into something very interesting on my way here so…" he trails off and smiles at her.

She finally notices I'm there and narrows her eyes "Don't tell me you caught him trying to run away again?"

"Why would you be surprised?" I cut in "Didn't you send him to make sure I didn't run away just now?"

She gives me one of those 'are-you-on-crack-or-something' looks "What are you talking about? This is the first time I see him today…" she tells me as we start making our way to the cafeteria.

Ruka pats my shoulder "_Like I said, you owe me…" _he whispers once more before he walks ahead of me to speak to Andou.

I sigh in defeat. List of people whom I owe to up till now…

Mikan

Imai

Ruka

And counting…

I wonder who'll be next.

"So did you get rid of the hag?" Mikan suddenly breaks the silence between us.

"Well… depends on what you mean by 'get rid of'"

"I mean if you told her to stay away from you…" her expression is very serious. "I didn't go through all this trouble so you'll end up with that hag." She states angrily.

"I'll do it as soon as I can but-."

"ONII-CHAN!"

I quickly spin around and see Aoi running my way. She starts gasping for air rapidly.

"Aoi, what happened?" I stare at her with a very concerned look in my face not really caring that every single person standing in the hallway at the moment is watching us.

"Dad -_gasp-_ Luna _-gasp- _plotting -_gasp- _BIG TROUBLE!" between all the gasps I couldn't really catch what she tried to say, but the words "big trouble" at the end aren't exactly encouraging.

"Calm down catch your breath and then explain what happened." I say as I lead her to a nearby bench.

After a drinking some water that someone handed her she breathes deeply and faces me with determination. Ignoring the fact that Mikan and company are surrounding us she starts to talk.

"Dad and Luna are plotting something to get you to come back home!" she quickly spits the whole sentence in one breath.

"Yeah I know… Luna transferred to school today. Don't sweat it, there's nothing she can do that-."

"NO! That's not what I mean!" she grabs my shoulders and forces me to look at her desperate eyes. "I heard them talking last night and apparently Luna transferring into Alice Gakuen has nothing to do with dad's plan. She just did it on her own. He even tried to stop her; he didn't want her to meet you just yet. The truth is that dad talked to the school's principal last night and-."

A ding-dong sound rings all over the school and a female's voice can be heard through the speakers a second after "_May I have your attention please. Will Hyuuga Natsume-kun from 2__nd__ year class B report to the principal's office immediately? I repeat…"_

I ignore the rest of the announcement as I notice everyone staring at me with wide eyes.

I just shrug. "Guess I'll have to go…"

"Onii-chan…" Aoi grabs my wrist to prevent me from walking away.

"It's okay. I'll be right back…" I look at her with a reassuring smile "Don't worry… It's probably nothing…"

Although I gotta admit I'm a little nervous myself, I make my way to the principal's office with everyone trailing behind me. As I'm about to open the door I see Luna leaning against a wall with a wicked grin on her face but I think she didn't notice me looking at her.

O- kay. NOW I am actually scared. Well no turning back now…

* * *

**(Mikan's PoV)**

As soon as the door shuts behind Natsume we all stick our ears to it trying to catch any of the conversation, unfortunately I can only hear the principal's voice but I can't make out the words.

Without saying anything Hotaru takes out a small radio from her backpack and turns it on. We all stare at her before she decides to finally explain.

"I installed a microphone in his clothes so we'll be able to hear…" she says as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Without wasting another second we gather around Hotaru's invention and she starts pressing some buttons and shaking it to get a better reception. I can't understand a single word they are saying… what's going on behind that door!?

"_DAMN YOU OLD MAN!!"_ Was that just Natsume screaming from the other side of the door? And what the hell was that loud bang I just heard?

"Hotaru hurry up and get that thing working."

She looks at me with her usual poker face but I can tell she wants to say "What the hell do you think I've been trying to do all this time?" she sighs and gently slaps the side of the radio making it finally sound clear.

"_I'm gonna have to ask you to calm down Hyuuga-kun" _that's the principal's voice. "_There is nothing I can do for you in a situation like this, this is a decision made by your father." _Why does he have to sound so calm?

"_Are you fucking kidding me!? How dare that old man!! I'm gonna rip him apart limb by limb and feed him to hungry wolves!!" _Well that's Natsume for sure…

"_I would rather you refrain from using foul language in my office Hyuuga-kun. Still, like I said before, there's nothing I can do about it and that is not going to change even if you raise your voice." _

What situation is he talking about? Crap, I missed the most important part of the conversation.

"_There's gotta be something you can do! You're the principal aren't you!?" _He sounds really desperate. What could they possibly be talking about?

"_I am truly deeply sorry Hyuuga-kun, I hate having to be the bearer of bad news, especially to an outstanding student as yourself... If it were in my hands to do something…" _What does he mean BAD NEWS!?

"_But… It's just not fair!" _

There's a long silence after that and we all feel the tension around us fearing the worse case scenario. I find it hard to breathe… Nobody dares utter as much as a word, even the birds outside seem like they are afraid of chirping.

What did the old man do?

"_Well…"_ I jump up as I finally hear the principal's voice from the gadget in Hotaru's hands. "_It's not in my power to do anything anymore…"_

"_You have to do something about this! You can't just let the old man get his way! Please I'll do anything!" _he sounds almost like he's pleading him to spare his life.

After another long pause the principal's sighs "_I'm sorry Hyuuga-kun, this matter is already out of my hands…"_ he says remorsefully.

All my life I've been told a lot of things. Your whole family is dead, you're alone in the world, nobody loves you… I've been treated like yesterday's trash, being told I'm worthless, ugly, stupid, useless, better off dead, you name it. But every time something like that happened, it wasn't like I didn't actually see it coming anyway.

But at that precise moment in time, I felt like nothing in the entire world could have prepared me for what I heard next.

"_I regret to tell you that as of tomorrow you are no longer a student of Alice Gakuen…" _

I can literally feel my heart falling into the depths of a pitch black pit as soon as my mind processes the statement… And still now I can feel it sinking deeper and deeper...

Thinking back on it, I'm not really sure why it bothered me so much. I didn't really know the details of Why? When? Where? What? I didn't really know Natsume all that much; I mean we've only been "friends" (if you can call it that) for like three days… So why did I feel like my heart was being squeezed and pulled out of my chest?

But I swear that at the moment I couldn't think of anything straight. My mind just started spinning in circles and my body moved on its own as I abruptly stood up and barged into the principal's office.

I only regained my self control as I heard Natsume's hushed voice calling my name and then noticed all of my friends staring at me with shocked expressions and the fearsome scowls on Luna's and the principal's face; but I couldn't care less at the time, fear just flew out of the window some time ago… And I don't really want it back. At least not for now…

"EXPLAIN!" I shout to no one in particular.

"Sakura-san you are in no place to demand anything. This matter does not concern YOU. Now get out of my office before-."

"I SAID EXPLAIN!" I yell at Natsume this time, completely ignoring the principal.

"SAKURA-SAN STOP THIS FOOLISHNESS AT ONCE!"

"YOU STAY OUT OF THIS!" I snap at the principal. Err maybe that wasn't such a good idea; at least Natsume's look of 'have you lost your mind?' says so.

"Would you mind excusing us for a moment?" Natsume gets up from his chair, grabs my arm and drags me all the way to the rooftop leaving behind a group of dumbfounded people. Maybe I shouldn't have pissed the principal off…

When we're finally alone I can finally feel the fear returning to me when Natsume's burning gaze falls upon me. I've seriously never seen him this pissed…

* * *

**(Normal PoV) **

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?" he screams at her.

Mikan lowers her head to try to hide her face. "I- I heard your conversation with the principal and I…" she trails off.

"You what? You thought you'd help by suddenly barging in hysterically and making a scene!?"

"I was just trying to help!"

"HELP!? You don't even know what happened in there!"

"That's why I asked for an explanation!"

"More like demanded..." he shakes his head to the sides trying to calm down "Look this problem doesn't concern you at all; it's between me and the old man."

"But I couldn't help it, when I heard you were going away I…"

He turns his back to her "Look, you have already done more than enough… I can take care of myself from here on out… You don't have to-."

"BUT I WANT TO!" she cuts him off walking up to him. "Look I'm sorry I imposed myself on you like that, and I'm sorry I made a scene. But I couldn't stop myself I was just so worried you might go away…" her voice starts becoming softer until it's only a whisper.

"Why?"

"I honestly have no idea…" she places one of her hands over her chest "I don't know what came over me I just…"

"Mikan did…" he slowly turns around and faces her with a gentle smile.

"Huh?"

"I said Mikan came over you…" his gentle smile turns into a goofy grin "You careeee about meee!" he says in a singsong voice.

"Shut up…" she looks away to hide her blushing face. "Of course I do baka… You're my friend after all…"

It was Natsume's turn to blush when he saw the serious look on her face and Mikan's turn to grin goofily when she saw the look on his.

"HA! In your face! Beaten in your own game Hyuuga!"

He frowns at the use of his last name over his actual name. '_I even rather she calls me Kazume…'_

"What are you angry about now?" she crosses her arms over her chest and huffs in annoyance.

"My name Sakura..." he states simply. "Aren't friends supposed to call each other by their names?" he quotes the words she used when she first called him Kazume.

Mikan stares bewildered. "Oh… Anyway what happened at the principal's office?" she completely avoids the subject.

He sighs but decides to drop the name thing for now. "That damned old man…" he clenches his fists "He talked to the principal and told him he won't pay my tuition for school, until I go back home and decide to do as he says that is."

"ARE YOU KIDDING!?" she shouts without thinking.

"I wish I was…" he admits bitterly.

"Well I can help you pay the tuition until he calms down and-."

"NO!" he "I'll figure out a way on my own. I'm not gonna accept charity from anyone..."

Mikan looks like she's about to retort something but when she sees the determination in his eyes places a hand on his shoulder and smiles.

"Then I'll support you all the way… No matter what your choice is, you can count on me for anything."

"Yeah…" he returns her smile "That's what friends are for right Mikan?"

"Yeah… that's right… friends…" she emphasizes the word more to herself than to him… "We'll figure out a way together…" she pauses to debate with herself whether or not she should say the next thing she's thinking of.

When she looks into his crimson eyes once more she bites her lower lip and makes up her mind.

"Natsume…"

He just stares at her in utter astonishment.

* * *

**A/N:** YAY! She did it! She called him by his real name out loud! And to think I was actually planning to finish this chapter when the principal says Natsume will be leaving school. You would have missed such a cute moment…

Will Natsume really be leaving school? What is he gonna do!? Will Kaname-senpai ever make an appearance as I said he would?

I shall answer all those questions probably in the next chapter!

Anyway I LOVE YOU ALL FOR REVIEWING! You guys are the best… I'll see you in the next chapter… I hope it's soon…

NOW IT'S TIME FOR A PREVIEW! Because you guys are so nice, you deserve that much :)

* * *

**Preview:**

"It's great to be back; I really missed you Mikan-chan…" he smiles sweetly at Mikan.

Mikan can only stare at him in awe thinking she might be seeing an illusion.

"I have to go greet everyone else, but I would really like to talk to you later if you want…" he places a peck on her cheek and flashes a charming smile at her before walking away.

"Who the hell was that guy?" Natsume fumes. You can practically see the smoke coming out of his ears

"Ka- Kaname-senpai…" Mikan mumbles blushing madly as she caresses the cheek he just kissed. A small smile creeps onto her face.

* * *

WAH! I just answered one of my questions… baka.

Ja ne minna-san!


	16. Hello Kanamesenpai!

**A/N:** Yes! Winter break is here and with it a brand new chapter. Thanks for all the great reviews. And now finally making his appearance, the one, the only, Sonou Kaname-senpai!

Just for plot sakes, let's say that the tuition at Alice Gakuen is paid in quotas…

**Disclaimer: **I wouldn't be writing fan fiction if I owned Gakuen Alice…

**Chapter 16 Hello Kaname-senpai!**

**(Normal PoV)**

"You could always request a scholarship… With your grades it won't be a problem." Ruka suggests after the whole group listens to the explanation of what happened a while earlier at the principal's office from Natsume and Mikan.

"No, he needs a signed permit from his parents." Hotaru bashes yet another idea.

"I'm sure mom would be glad to, if it's for Onii-chan then-."

"**Both** parents." she emphasizes.

"Well I'm all out of ideas…" Tsubasa leans against a wall "I guess the only way for you to stay in this school is going back home as your dad says."

Natsume says nothing, glances over at Hotaru who just stares back emotionlessly and he starts walking off.

"Where are you going!?" Mikan walks fast trying to catch up to him.

"Don't follow me." He replies coldly making her freeze on her spot. '_I'm sorry Mikan, but there's only one way out of this...' _He thinks as he walks away without looking back.

**-Back at the principal's office-**

Natsume sits down on a chair in front of the principal's desk, his eyes downcast staring at his feet.

"I wish there was anything else I could do for you." The principal says honestly regretful.

"You have done more than enough, sir. I'll have to take it from here, though I'd like to ask you to keep this from the rest of the students, especially Sakura Mikan."

"That's the least I can do for my star student. But, why would you want to hide it from her in particular?"

"Because I know she's gonna meddle to try and stop me and think of another way to solve this, and then things will get troublesome…"

"Well she'd be right to try and stop you…"

"I'll be able to come back to school right? If my dad signs the papers that is…" Natsume asks changing the subject completely.

"Yes, if your parents sign those papers then you'll be reintegrated to the school as soon as possible."

"That's exactly what I needed to know."

"Though, if I may say so myself, I think that the price you are willing to pay is far too high." He states bluntly.

"Well there's nothing else I can do, is there!?" he releases his built up emotions shouting at the principal and slamming his fists on his desk.

**-Back with Mikan-**

She listens intently to the conversation taking place on the other side of the door.

"_There's always something else you can do Hyuuga-kun…"_ the principal's voice trails off.

"_Well if you think of one do let me know because I can't think of anything else and I'm not about to leave this school now!" _

She hears footsteps approaching the door from the inside.

"_And please, would you call my father and tell him I'm coming home?" _

Mikan freezes as her brain registers the words she just heard. The doorknob turns, the door bursts open and Natsume comes out.

He glances at her coldly for a second before starting down the hall.

He reaches the school gates and sees Hotaru standing on his way, her arms crossed over her chest.

"You're taking the fool's way out if you ask me…" she states watching the papers Natsume is holding in his right hand. "You endured it all this time and now you are just-."

"I don't recall ever asking for your opinion…" he retorts.

"But you wanted to… You want to know if I approve of this or not…" she stares at him with an unblinking gaze "I don't… But I doubt you'll change your mind because of what I think."

Natsume nods.

"I can't believe you're gonna give it all up just like that… If I were you I'd-."

"I guess we don't really think alike at all, you and I…" he smiles and turns his eyes towards the sky for some reason feeling a bit relieved.

"Well aren't you glad you found out before it was too late?"

Natsume quickly wipes the grin off his face "Wait so… You mean… YOU KNEW ALL ALONG!?"

She shrugs "It's my job to know everything Baka-Mikan does…"

"Why didn't you say anything then!?"

"I was actually trying to make you lose interest in me without having to turn you down." She explains. "Guess it's pretty useless now. You probably already lost all hope if not interest…"

After a long pause Natsume finally manages to put his thoughts in order and decides to speak his mind "You really aren't what I thought you were…"

"People hardly are, but you don't really need me to tell you that …"

Natsume's mind drifts to Mikan for whatever reason, he doesn't really know… And suddenly a thought strikes him. "Wait, if you say you know everything… then… About her stepdad too…"

Hotaru's eyes widen. '_Crap I shouldn't have said that.'_ Natsume starts panicking.

"Eh I mean um that she- and um-."

"You mean she told **YOU**!?" she asks with the utmost astonishment.

"Well one thing led to another and- Imai?" he looks confused as he watches her smiling.

"Maybe you can do it…" she mutters absentmindedly.

"What do you mean? What are you-?"

"Making her forget about _him_ and bringing the old Mikan back…" she states wiping the smile off her face and becoming serious once again.

"Who-?"

"Listen to me Hyuuga, the fact that Mikan told you the truth about her family is proof that she trusts you over anyone else." Hotaru examines the boy in front of her with calculating eyes. "I have no idea why, when or how, but she does."

Natsume smiles proudly at himself but his moment of glory is cut short as Hotaru walks up to him and pokes his chest with her index finger.

"But so help me god if you dare betray that trust, I'll make you wish you were never born. Have I made myself clear?"

Natsume swallows the lump in his throat and nods stiffly. '_Definitely not what I thought she was…'_

"Good." she answers simply.

"Hyuuga-sama!" a man's voice calls from inside a limousine parked behind them. "I'm here to take you back to the mansion."

Two other men in black suits get down from the back and grab Natsume and start pulling him into the limo. At that moment he remembers…

"Wait, Imai! Who is HIM!?" he yells at Hotaru before the door slams in front of him and the cars speeds away.

"_Sonou Kaname_…" she whispers to no one. She starts walking towards the school and smiles as she sees a pink Volkswagen Beetle speeding out of the school grounds.

**-At the Hyuuga Mansion-**

"I see, so he's coming back. I'm glad he's finally seen the light." Hyuuga Satoshi grins as he watches his son slowly enter his office "Yes, he's here. Thank you for you hard work Mr. Principal." He slams his cell phone shut.

"I hope you are happy for destroying your only son's happiness old man." Natsume glares at his father wishing he could set him on fire just by staring. (A/N: Too bad for him he doesn't have his Alice in this fic.)

"Now, now Natsume, there's no need to be overdramatic, is there?" Satoshi grins even more. "You'll thank me for this one day Natsume, when you are the richest man in all of Japan!" he exclaims proudly.

"Don't you mean YOU will thank ME when I am?"

"I'm doing this for your own good Natsume, not for my own profit." He tries to sound outraged that his son even considered that possibility, even though it was so true.

"Sure thing old man…" he rolls his eyes.

Satoshi scowls "Natsume if you wish for me to let you back into this house and Alice Gakuen you'll have to prove you won't pull one of these stunts again."

"What do you mean prove? You are my father! Shouldn't you have a little faith in me!? Besides if I try this kind of thing once again you can always-."

"After what happened last time I've learned I cannot trust you, not as long as you are acquainted with that insolent brat you call girlfriend."

Natsume clenches his fists, it wouldn't do any good if he stood up for Mikan now, he'd have to grin and bare it for now. "What do you want me to do then?"

Satoshi grins smugly "For starters you will break any bonds that tie you to her and accept your engagement with Luna."

"WHAT!? That wasn't part of the deal! You said I only had to come back home! That was the deal you struck over the phone!"

"I've said it before, haven't I? As long as you live under my roof you'll follow my rules, and if you wish for me to give you permission and money to stay at Alice Gakuen you'll have to remain living under my roof."

Natsume curses under his breath. The old man had certainly planned this really well. '_Not as well as I…'_ he thinks to himself.

As far as Natsume was concerned there were only two ways he could stay as a student at Alice Gakuen: the easy way and the Hyuuga Natsume way.

The easy way was to virtually sell his soul to the devil (a.k.a Hyuuga Satoshi) going back home and following his every order.

And the Hyuuga Natsume way was FAR more risky... He had to admit it was almost impossible.

School, money, forced marriage and a lifetime of being his dad's puppet… That was what he got if he went with the easy way.

But if he went with his way, it was just like gambling…

The stakes were pretty high and the odds were pretty low. Chances were that if he screwed this up then not only would he not be able to return to Alice Gakuen, but also the Hyuuga Mansion. He would end up completely empty handed.

'_Yup, just like gambling…'_

But with the other option he had a couple of things for granted…

So he'd have to marry Luna, and live like a puppet for the rest of his days and so life was gonna be a living freaking hell.

But hey! At least he'd get to stay at school and… Who the hell was he kidding? There was just NO way he was taking the coward's way out of this, not after he'd come this far.

'_I came here with the intention of putting everything on the line and I'm not about to chicken out now.'_ Okay maybe he was being just a _**little**_ overdramatic

'_If I must lose everything and go down then so be it!_' Okay maybe more like **very** overdramatic…

'_I shall not give up without a proper fight! Let the people know I fought with my all until the bitter end!'_ Right… now he was just playing the crappy-Hollywood -movie-hero part which is just silly, but hey… a guy needs motivation, and there is no awesome action-movie background music playing so… he had to improvise.

Natsume walks up to his dad's desk clenching the papers in his hands tightly.

"Looks like you don't leave me a choice." The younger Hyuuga says as he keeps approaching his father at a slow pace.

Satoshi grins triumphantly as he watches his son getting closer 'About time we ended this childish game.' He thinks rejoicing in his certain victory. (A/N: Where have I seen this turn of events before?)

The hand clutching the papers starts rising slowly as soon as he reaches the desk.

"I want to say something before you sign and I become a soulless puppet once again…." Natsume stops his hand midair and pauses for dramatic effect. "I just want you to know that 

no matter what…" he places the papers on the desk while his father watches him intently '_That's right, keep your eyes on me…'_ he thinks as he stares back "I will never forgive you for trying to ruin my life."

Satoshi scoffs and takes a pen from one of the desk drawers. "For god sakes Natsume, you are almost 17 years-old stop acting like the spoiled brat you are and grow up! You have to understand you have responsibilities as a Hyuuga you must fulfill."

Natsume starts panicking inside as his father clicks the pen he's holding, but he doesn't let it show in his face '_Remain calm at all times, if you show weakness he'll crush you.'_ He reminds himself.

His breath becomes heavy and uneven when the pen finds its way to the papers lying on the desk.

Now came the risky part of the Hyuuga Natsume way, meaning the impossible part.

His father slowly starts turning his gaze to the white prints on his table making Natsume considerably nervous. Okay he was probably about to pee on his pants.

How on earth could he even **CONSIDER** his dad was gonna sign without looking at what he was signing!? He was a businessman for crying out loud! He was used to people trying to trick him with contracts!

But that was where his plan majorly **FAILED**. He started regretting not thinking this through but now he couldn't turn back. He was WAY beyond the point of no return.

"WAIT!" he shouts before his father can even look at the papers. Satoshi stares at him with an inquisitive look, or more like a now-I-know-you-are-up-to-something-look.

"What?" he asks impassively.

Natsume starts sweating "Well, I mean… I didn't get a chance to object to that!" he smacks his forehead mentally while he tries to look insulted on the outside.

The older Hyuuga raises an eyebrow at this. What on earth was his son trying to get at? "Well?" he presses for him to finish.

"Um… I haven't actually thought of a come back for that yet… But I just thought I had to say something…" What could he do now? His whole plan was based on distracting the old man… but he was out of ideas.

Satoshi shakes his head, sighs exasperated and starts turning his head towards the papers once again.

The world starts moving in slow motion for Natsume as he just stands there watching his own downfall on the make. '_God please send me a distraction, anything! If you help me now I swear I'll…' _he struggles to think of a good sacrifice _'…I'll kiss the next person I see, no matter who it is!' _

As if on queue the door to behind him suddenly burst open and a loud -_slam-_ echoed throughout the room.

'_YES! THANK YOU GOD!!'_ he yelled in his mind when his father's head shot up to stare at the intruder.

He couldn't care less who or what was standing at the door right now, all that mattered was that his dad hadn't seen the papers yet so he still had a chance, and if he played his cards right he could still succeed.

"So that's it is it? You're just giving up? After all I've done for you this is how you pay me back, by sneaking behind my back and selling your soul back to the devil himself!?"

'_OH! COME ON!'_ Natsume shivers as he recognizes that voice. '_Why? Out of all the people in the world god… Why did it have to be her?'_ he starts turning around but stops abruptly. '_I haven't technically __**seen**__ her yet…'_

"Well, well, well, impeccable timing. It would almost seem as if you had planned to come in at this precise moment…" Satoshi muses.

'_You couldn't be more wrong.'_ Natsume starts regretting having asked for a distraction. "I didn't tell her to come; she shouldn't even know I'm here."

Satoshi hums not convinced at all with that "Well then, this is a perfect chance for you to prove you really want me to forgive you for running away…"

"What do you mean?" he had a pretty good picture of what his father meant.

"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about Natsume. Now stop playing dumb and do it!" the older Hyuuga commands.

Natsume stops to think about how to play his cards. This was possibly the last chance he was getting so he needed to do this right.

"I'll do it if you sign."

"I'll sign if you do it."

Both Hyuuga stare at each other both unwilling to take the first move.

"Do what? What are you talking about?" Mikan cuts in stepping closer to them.

"Stay back!" Natsume shouts at her "Don't get any closer."

"I'm waiting Natsume, do it…" Satoshi points at the girl standing behind his son with the pen.

"Not unless you sign." He runs all possible things he could say to convince him to sign quickly and comes up with an idea he didn't think it was too bad. "It's only fair that you sign first, I'm the one that is more likely to be tricked rather than you."

"Break up? You mean… with me?" Mikan stares wide eyed at Natsume's back "That means you really are marrying Luna?"

After all the trouble they'd been through? After all she'd done for him? What about freeing himself from his dad? What about the speech of not being controlled he had given? What about Hotaru, the supposed love of his life?

What about **Mikan**? Didn't he care at all about her?

And why did she suddenly feel so betrayed?

"Have you ever considered how I feel about this? Have you even thought about what I-."

"WILL YOU SHUT UP!?" Natsume yells at her to everyone's (including himself) amazement. '_I'm sorry, but I can't afford to screw this up.'_ He points at the papers lying forgotten on the desk "Now will you sign the damn papers!?"

Satoshi flicks through the pages and places the tip of the pen under the words "Parents Signature" without sparing a glimpse to the rest of the document.

Natsume's lips curve slightly upwards. '_Almost there…'_

"Those are the papers that'll let you back into Alice Gakuen?" Mikan stomps over to Satoshi's desk, Natsume looks away to prevent himself from seeing her.

"You have no idea what you're doing so just go away!" the other teen scolds her.

"Are you kidding? How can I just walk away when you most need my help?"

"I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP OKAY!?" '_Please go, we're both gonna regret it if you don't.' _

"I can't believe you are giving up so easily… I guess you're not really what I thought you were…"

"People hardly are, but you don't really need **me **to tell **you** that…" he quotes Hotaru's words.

"Please… Look at yourself, you look pathetic. You don't even have the guts to face me!"

Instinctively he perks his head up and stares into Mikan's eyes. The moment he sees the hurt look in them he regrets ever turning his head and looks away once again. "Just go…" he mutters. "_Please_" he whispers for her ears only.

"Fine" Mikan walks to the door "I hope you are happy with your choice."

"Very much." He lets out unconsciously. He couldn't help it, he really was. Because now he was 90 percent sure his would get his way.

Mikan looks at him with a disgusted look on her face. "You're an ass…" she says before walking off and slamming the door behind her.

Satoshi grins wickedly and he finally starts signing the papers "Well who knew you had it in you Natsume… You really are a Hyuuga after all…"

Natsume tries to glare at his father but only manages to smirk. "Yeah, who knew…?"

Satoshi turns back to the first page of the document and catches a short glimpse at it before it gets quickly snatched from his hands. He gasps in shock when he reads the first three words written right under the Alice Gakuen logo.

"Scholarship Application Form" it read.

"Well I didn't know you were okay with me applying for a scholarship… But hey if you really want me to I guess I will…" he starts heading to the door.

"You…" Satoshi's jaw drops.

Man did Natsume like seeing that expression on his face.

"You tricked me…" Natsume is a little taken aback by the fact that he doesn't sound angry, more like amused.

"Just like a true Hyuuga would, right dad?" he takes a key holder from his pocket and throws it to him. "Here… You don't need to tell me, I won't be coming back anyway…" and with that he steps outside not bothering to close the door.

Satoshi grabs the keys and stares at them. "Unbelievable." He starts laughing "Like a true Hyuuga would indeed…" he picks up the phone and dials a series of numbers.

"You won this battle Natsume, but the war is far from over…" he starts laughing once more "Scholarship application… I can't believe I was stupid enough not to read before signing… He had it very well planned out…"

What he didn't know is that he didn't have it planned out at all… it was pure luck. But that's something he doesn't really need to know…

**-Back to Natsume-**

Convincing Yukiko to sign wasn't even a problem. He just had to ask her to and she did not bothering to ask what it was for.

Okay, now one problem handled, he could rest assured about school.

So he had to give up all the Hyuuga family money, so he had to throw away 16 years of coping with his dad, and so he was now out on the street with nowhere to go…

But at least now he had what he'd yearned for his whole life, freedom, and that was all that mattered to him right now.

Thank god Mikan barged in at that precise moment if not who knows…

Speaking of which…

'_Oh crap! I forgot all about her! I have to explain to her what happened!'_

Natsume starts running and finally catches up with her when she's getting on her car. He shouts for her to stop but she doesn't listen. As a response she starts her car and starts driving away.

'_I can't let her get away.'_ Natsume sprints as fast as he can and jumps in front of her car making her stop abruptly.

"WHAT THE HELL? ARE YOU TRYING TO GET KILLED!?" she yells at him getting out of the car to check if he's okay.

"Relax…" he says smiling goofily "I knew you weren't gonna run me over."

She helps him get up and immediately turns around so that her back is facing him. "I'm still pissed at you for being an ass."

"I'm sorry." He answers honestly.

"You gave everything up just to stay at school!"

"I didn't…"

"You could've thought of some other way!"

"I did…"

"Besides if you have to marry Luna what difference does it make if you are in Alice Gakuen or not?"

"What do you mean it doesn't make a difference?"

"You even agreed to it so there's no way out of it now…"

"Are you even listening to me!?" he shouts trying to catch her attention.

"WHAT!?" she snaps turning around sharply.

"I'm sorry. I didn't give up. I did think of another way to stay at school. I am **NOT** marrying Luna."

"But how did you get your dad to agree to that!?"

He shrugs "I tricked him into signing the papers for the scholarship application."

"H- How do you TRICK Hyuuga Satoshi into signing something like that!?"

"Actually the credit for that goes to you… If you hadn't made that scene-."

"Why couldn't you tell me about this before!? I could've helped you!"

"Well they say you have to fool your allies before you can fool your enemies… Besides I knew you'd try to stop me if I told you…"

"Of course I would! Are you kidding? It was a completely reckless plan! I can't believe it even worked!"

"But it did…" he counters.

"Yeah, but what if I hadn't barged in when I did? What would you have done then?"

"But you did… So there's no need to think about that." He smiles at her and suddenly remembers his promise. '_I swear I'll kiss the next person I see, no matter whom it is!'_ he blushes.

Mikan quickly turns around remembering she's supposed to be mad at him. "I haven't forgiven you for being an ass yet."

"I already apologized AND explained myself. I don't know what else to do." Mikan gets the feeling that he's giving her the kicked puppy face.

"So… I guess that your father is cutting you out for good isn't he?"

Natsume nods and mutters a yeah as he remembers she can't see him nodding.

"So the price everyone said you were paying actually WAS money…" she says more to herself than to him.

"Would you mind giving me a ride to school? I need to turn in the papers as soon as possible…"

Mikan sighs "I guess…" they both get in the car and she starts driving to school. "You owe me though…"

"I had a feeling you'd say that…" he says laughing and makes a mental note.

'_List of people whom I owe to up till now: _

_Mikan_

_Imai_

_Ruka_

_God_

_Mikan (again)'_

**-At the Principal's Office-**

"I don't know how you managed to make him agree to sign this…" the principal stares at Natsume's scholarship application as if it were some kind of extraterrestrial device.

"I have my ways…" he grins proudly.

"I don't want to know. As long as I receive no complaints from him I honestly don't care."

"You won't, trust me. He's got his pride to protect… And complaining about it would be like admitting that he made a mistake, god forbid..."

"You didn't tell him I had something to do with this, did you?"

"But you didn't have anything to do with it Mr. Principal. This was all one hundred percent my doing as far as the rest of the world is concerned."

"Well then Hyuuga-kun, welcome back to Alice Gakuen. Although you didn't have much time to miss it…" he chuckles lightly.

"That's a good thing!" he stands up from his chair "Now if you'll excuse me, I have an oath to fulfill…" And with that he heads for the door.

"I hope I won't have to see you in this office for a long time Hyuuga-kun."

"Me too..." he calls back.

Natsume walks down the halls and sees Mikan talking to some blonde guy. He gets close enough to hear their conversation, but far enough for them not to notice he's there.

"It's great to be back; I really missed you Mikan-chan…" the blond smiles sweetly at Mikan.

Mikan can only stare at him in awe thinking she might be dreaming or seeing an illusion.

"I have to go greet everyone else, but I would really like to talk to you later if you want…" he places a peck on her cheek and flashes a charming smile at her before walking away.

Natsume walks up to her and glares at the back of the guy who just walked away.

"Who the hell was that guy?" Natsume fumes. You can practically see the smoke coming out of his ears.

"Ka- Kaname-senpai…" Mikan mumbles blushing madly as she caresses the cheek he just kissed. A small smile creeps onto her face.

Kaname? Where had he heard that name before?

* * *

**A/N: **For some reason this was such a tricky chapter to write. I gotta tell you, I kept going back and forth changing the order of things and adding stuff here and there… But I gotta say I liked it, I'm pretty proud of it if I may say so myself.

Anyways hope you enjoyed it…

Ja ne minna-san!


	17. First Meeting

**A/N:** Quick-ish update! You can thank **Crimson Memories** for that. That song she made me listen to, god I can't stop singing it! I knew that was gonna happen… But at least it got me into writing.

Though it gave me the craziest idea ever, I can't even believe I thought about...

I wonder how many of you would bash me for even considering…

Okay here goes nothing… -_gulp__-_

H- How about… howaboutaKanameXHotarupairing?

Okay you can kill me now… I know I would. But maybe it's not THAT crazy... I mean just… read this chapter and decide, if you are all against it I guess it's a no then.

Oh yeah, so this chapter is dedicated to **Crimson Memories** for sticking that song in my head… Thanks for that. :D

Now yes let's get on with the chapter.

**Disclaimer:** Don't own…

**Chapter 17 First Meeting.**

**(Normal PoV)**

"Kaname-senpai? You mean as in Sonou Kaname?" Hotaru asks mildly interested in what Natsume has to say.

"Do you happen to know any other Kaname-senpai?"

She shakes her head.

"Then that's the one I mean." Natsume hands her a soda can "Care to tell me who he is?"

"Sonou Kaname. 17 years old and like Tsubasa he's in senior year. Also known as Alice Gakuen's _**Ouji-sama**_(Prince) Where Mikan get's her popularity from power and fear he gets it from kindness and smiles. He is what you would call perfect, in every sense of the word." Hotaru pauses to take a sip from her soda.

"If you thought Tsubasa and the others were venerated at school, you have yet to know Sonou Kaname. They are nothing but shadows when his name pops up. One would think that would cause people to harbor hard feelings for him but for some reason it's not the case with him. In fact he is Tsubasa's best friend. He had to leave the country last year to get some kind of special medical treatment, and still he's the number one guy at school. Like I said, he's perfect… it's impossible for anyone not to love him." The girl stares at the soda can in her hands and sighs.

"I take it that you're not the exception then?" he asks more out of curiosity than anything else.

Hotaru looks at him from the corner of her eyes and snorts. "You think I'm in love with him?" turning back to the soda can she smiles bitterly. "Actually… you couldn't be farther from the truth." she starts gripping the can tighter "About what I feel for that person I…" her words trail off and her eyes are suddenly filled with a held back emotion he can't quite place.

"You?" he presses her to finish the sentence.

"I despise him." She states firmly.

"Why? Didn't you just say it's impossible not to love him?"

"That's what makes me despise him even more. The fact that I can't really hate him even though I try so hard to…" the soda can in Hotaru's hand starts bending under her strong grip.

Natsume stares at the girl as if she were a freak show "You're not making any sense…"

"I don't expect you to understand…"

"I can try if you let me." He takes the can from her grasp and throws it in a nearby trash bin.

"Is this how you get Mikan to open up to you? By sweet talking her into speaking?"

Natsume shrugs "Maybe…" he smiles sheepishly "Is it working?"

"Fine, but we'll talk about it over a cup of coffee and cake; maybe ice-cream and then I'd like to try that new candy everyone's been talking about… howalon or something…" she starts walking towards a coffee shop "Oh, your treat of course." She adds at the last minute before entering the store.

Natsume sweat-drops '_Even though she knows I'm flat broke now… Ah hold on, I still have the old man's credit card…'_ a grin finds its way to his face. "Eat as much as you want, I'll gladly treat you to anything…"

Hotaru raises an eyebrow "I was planning on it, you didn't need to tell me…" she says and continues pointing to everything and anything on the menu to the waitress.

After their orders are placed on their table Natsume decides to break the silence.

"So w-." Hotaru cuts him off.

"It's his entire fault…" she answers his yet to be asked question "That Mikan became this… popularity-hungry-abomination she is now." She takes a bite from one of the various cakes on the table.

"Why d-." again.

"At least that's what I think. Ever since he left, Mikan hasn't been the same." She continues eating whatever treat she can get her hands on.

"What could h-." and again. Why did he feel like this was a one-sided conversation? Oh right, because it was… silly him.

"Mikan… she always admired Kaname, she was the only person besides me to acknowledge her and at some point that admiration turned into love I guess…" the distant look in her eyes only told him to sit back and prepare himself for a long trip down Memory Lane…

* * *

**(Retelling- brought to you by Hotaru)**

Mikan and I met Kaname when we were around 10… We were playing at a park in front of this big white house and I noticed a lonely blond boy staring down at us through a window on the second floor.

That was the first time I ever saw Kaname.

When Mikan noticed I was looking at something she too looked the same way and saw him sitting by the window. She waved at him and he waved back and then a woman pulled him away and closed the curtains… I didn't see him again after that.

The next few days we kept coming back to that park and I used to stare at the closed window expecting the boy to come out, but he never did. Finally on the fifth day of waiting Mikan decided to approach the house and ring the doorbell.

One of the maids opened the door and when Mikan asked to see the little boy. She said something about him being very sick and that his mother wouldn't allow anyone into his room but before we could leave she winked and said his mother was at work and wouldn't be back for a while.

She opened the door to the gloomy room and when we walked in I saw him sitting on a chair next to the shut curtains hugging a brown homemade teddy bear. As soon as he saw the two of us standing at the door his eyes lit up and he smiled brightly.

That was the first time I ever saw Kaname smile.

That day he told us about how he had a weak body so he couldn't go out. He told us about the only friend he had, Mr. Bear he called him. He told us about how he had a tutor to teach him home school since he couldn't attend a real school. He told us how his father had passed away when he was very small and that he didn't remember him at all…

And finally he told us how we were the first real kids he'd ever talked to in his life. He told us about everything until he had nothing left to say.

That was the first time I ever heard Kaname's voice.

From that day on Mikan and I kept visiting him while his mom was gone, the same maid would always sneak us in and out of the house unnoticed. One day we were arguing about whether or not we should take him with us to the park and I called Mikan an idiot that's when I finally heard the laughter erupting from the boy sitting behind her.

That was the first time I ever heard Kaname laughing.

In the end I gave up and decided to forget about the consequences and with the help of the maid we sneaked him out with us.

While we were playing we lost track of time and before we knew it Kaname's mom was walking up to us screaming and saying that we were putting his life and danger and if we even understood the seriousness of what we'd just done. His eyes recovered that lonely look they carried that first time I saw him and his mother pulled him away and into the house.

The maid was fired after that incident and Mikan and I were never allowed to go into the house or see Kaname again. We kept coming back to the same park everyday but the curtains were always shut and as we grew up we kind of forgot all about it. At least I think Mikan did…

I often walked pass that street on my way home from school to see if the curtains were still closed, and indeed they were.

It was about three years later that I saw him again, he had changed a lot over the years but I knew it was him.

It was the first day of my last year as a middle school student, and I was walking past his house when I noticed that the window on the second floor was shot open and the curtains were being gently swayed by the spring breeze.

And there he was, his elbows resting on the window frame and his head plopped on his hands, and he was smiling. When he spotted me he quickly stood up and ran into the room. I thought it was only normal considering all the trouble we'd put him through, but I was really surprised when he came out through the front door.

"Hotaru-chan!" he called from behind me.

That was the first time Kaname ever called my name.

After reassuring me for the umpteenth time that it was okay I agreed to have tea in his house. Once again he started talking about everything until there was nothing left unsaid. He explained to me how his health had improved and that his mother had allowed him to go to a real high school, Alice Gakuen he said, and how he was really looking forward to next year when we could all be together there.

After I came back home I told Mikan all about my encounter with him and she pestered me until I agreed to take her too… A couple of days later the three of us were having tea together in the backyard of Kaname's house and he told Mikan what he'd told me over again.

Mikan said something about how she was so happy that he was okay and that all those years she'd been thinking about him and praying that he would be healthy and now that he went to school she could start calling him 'Kaname-senpai' and whatnot.

That was when I finally realized Mikan liked Kaname and that was also when I started distancing myself from him.

I didn't see much of Kaname after that day. I avoided walking by his house on my way home and I stopped visiting. I only heard from him through Mikan's incessant rambles about how he was cute, nice, cool, gentle and kind.

And then one day it happened, she saw him hanging out with some girl from school and became very jealous. She started saying how she wasn't as beautiful, sophisticated, refined or ladylike as that girl and how she would never be good enough for 'Kaname-senpai'.

The end of the year came quickly and the cold winter with it. I decided to walk by his house once more for some reason, and when I did I saw a black car parked outside. Kaname came out of the house with a grim expression on his face and holding one suitcase in each hand.

When he spotted me he walked up to me and with a serious expression he said "I have to leave."

I didn't ask for explanations or anything of the sort I regarded him with a nod and asked "Aren't you gonna say goodbye to Mikan?"

He shook his head "There's no time. It seems my condition worsened so I'm going abroad to a specialist to treat my illness." He forced a smile on his face "I'm glad I was able to see you one more time at least. It seems that you have been avoiding me since that time we had tea with Mikan all that time ago…"

I simply shrugged in response and for the third and last time I saw the same loneliness filled eyes I hadn't seen for three long years, and for some reason I felt that this time it was my fault…

"I hope to see you again some time… When I come back I'm sure we'll meet again, at Alice Gakuen…"

I looked away and nodded once. After that he got in the black car and his last words were "It's a promise…" I quickly turned my head only to see the car speeding away and Kaname staring through the back window waving at me and I couldn't help but smile a little and wave back.

That was the last time I ever saw Kaname.

When I told Mikan about his sudden departure she cried and cried regretting not being there to say goodbye. I reassured her that he would be back and that was when she decided she had to go to Alice Gakuen and become the best so that when he came back he would surely notice her and like her back.

That was the last time Mikan was her true self… and she became what I call Miss. Popularity.

* * *

**(Normal PoV)**

Natsume takes a while to process the whole tale and finally comes up with something to say.

"So… No intention to sound like a jerk or anything but… How is it his fault at all?"

Hotaru glares at him "If he hadn't left like that… If only he'd said something to Mikan maybe she-."

"It doesn't sound to me like he had a choice… And besides aren't you trying to put all the blame on him because you don't want to accept part of the fault?" he looks at her straight in the eyes trying to place that feeling she's been hiding since a while back.

"It's not my fault… and even if it were like that, why would I put the blame on him when I-."

Suddenly it hits Natsume what it is as he sees Hotaru's expression softening a bit. "Self sacrifice…" he mumbles.

Her face becomes serious once again as she faces him.

"You're unconsciously making up pitiful excuses to make yourself hate him for Mikan's sake, so that you don't have to face the fact that actually you… how should I say this in a gentle manner?" he taps his chin with his index finger and hums watching her all the while, waiting for her to finish the sentence he started.

"Well since you're not about to admit it I'm just gonna go right ahead and say it for you…" Natsume smirks when Hotaru's eyes narrow slightly. "You fell for him… pretty hard, and a long time ago might I add…"

Her eyes widen as if realization had just dawned on her. For the first time she couldn't object because she didn't know how. Could it be… that he was right?

"Since you're not trying to prove me wrong I guess that means I'm right…" Natsume plops his elbows on the table and intertwines his fingers and grins smugly. "I think you're taking the fool's way out if you ask me…" he mocks.

Hotaru snorts. "I don't recall ever asking for your opinion…" she replies playing along.

"Oh!" he throws his arms in the air "But you wanted to!" he sighs and composes himself before continuing "What are you gonna do now?"

Hotaru thinks about it. "Well, I still have time to think about it… Maybe it was just childish infatuation or maybe I was just idolizing him like you did to me… whichever the case, until he comes back there's no need to worry…"

"Um… yeah, about that…" Natsume starts debating with himself if it's a good idea to tell her… but she sees right through him and the dreadful question pops into her head.

"Why did you suddenly ask about Kaname when you're not even supposed to know him in the first place?"

"Err… well you see… it's a funny story actually…" he starts laughing nervously earning himself a deathly glare from Hotaru.

"SPEAK. NOW." She demands.

"Well I've got good news and bad news… The bad news is that he's back…"

"And the good news?" she starts growing impatient.

"That's also the good news…" he answers grinning.

Hotaru stretches over the table and grabs the collar of his shirt "Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"In my defense I thought you already knew… You said you knew everything Mikan did…"

She gasps in shock as his words sink in. "So she already saw him?" she slowly releases him "It might be too late already…"

"Late for w-?"

Hotaru suddenly stands up and runs out of the shop.

"Wait, Imai!" Natsume is about to chase her when a waitress stops him.

"Sir, you forgot to pay your bill…" she smiles sweetly.

'_I don't have time for this…'_ he quickly hands her the credit card "Give yourself a nice tip…" he says and runs off following behind Hotaru.

* * *

**-At the Alice Gakuen School Gates-**

Hotaru turns around the corner to enter the school grounds without looking and bumps into someone making her fall to the ground.

"Are you okay?" a sweet voice asks and a hand is offered to her to help her. "I'm sorry; you came out of nowhere so I didn't get a chance to move out of the way."

"Yeah…" she mumbles as she takes it and stands up.

"You should be more careful and watch where you're going…" the voice says mockingly. Wait… mockingly? No one mocks Imai Hotaru! Well, without a proper reason…

"Well you should watch it too you as-!" Hotaru's voice suddenly dies down and her mouth hangs agape when she looks up to see the person she just ran into.

"I see you kept our promise Hotaru-chan." Kaname smiles sweetly at the girl.

The younger girl looks away and shrugs. "I came here because Mikan wanted to come. It's not like I ever made such a promise anyway."

"Is that so…" he mutters, a tint of disappointment in his voice.

She closes her eyes and tries to get a hold of herself. "What are you doing here?" she asks coldly.

The blonde boy laughs. "I go to this school…"

"You know what I mean. Why didn't you say you were coming back?" her tone gets icier word by word.

"Would you have answered the phone if I'd called you?" he asks surprising her a little, she never thought he took so much notice that she had in fact been purposefully avoiding him.

"Besides I wanted to surprise everyone. But it seems that they already left, I only found Mikan-chan here but I think she's gone too..."

Hotaru stands completely still and says nothing.

"Are you ever going to answer my question Hotaru-chan? The one I asked that time…"

Apparently there were some minor "details" she "forgot" to mention to Natsume…

"Will you at least tell me why you started being this cold towards me all of a sudden?" he sounds almost like he is pleading for his life to be spared.

"You didn't say anything to her, did you?"

He shakes his head. "No… But maybe I should. I think it's unfair for her if I keep quiet…"

Hotaru nods in agreement. "But it'll be worse if you tell her now."

"Now will you tell me why you keep treating me as if I had the plague?" he manages to smile but his eyes give away that same loneliness they used to.

"I'm not sure if it's true, but I guess it's only fair to tell you…" she pauses and looks around. "Truth is I-."

"IMAI!" Natsume finally catches up to her panting "Running off like that, you had me really worried and I find you here as if nothing..." he stops midsentence '_Sonou Kaname…'_

"Ah… You are a friend of Hotaru-chan? Nice to meet you, I'm Sonou Kaname." He extends a hand for Natsume to shake.

"Yeah…" and so he does. "Hyuuga Natsume, nice to finally meet you, it's good to know the guy who could sweep off her feet the great Ima-." Hotaru smacks the back of his head and scowls.

"Shut up idiot." She scolds.

Kaname starts laughing out loud. "It's good to see you are still the same, I was worried you might have changed but I'm glad to find that certain things never do."

Hotaru turns her eyes to him and bites her tongue to keep herself from smiling. (A/N: I bet that's how she manages to keep the straight face all the time.)

The blonde teen pats her head "Well, I'll be seeing you around Hotaru-chan, and I expect to get an answer to my question some day…" he turns to Natsume "It was nice meeting you." And with that he leaves them both standing there.

"What question?" the crimson eyed boy asks raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing shut up." Hotaru starts walking down the street, away from the school. "I'm going to search for Mikan, she's not here anymore."

"She probably went back home then…"

"No, I know where she is." She keeps walking with Natsume following suit.

"So… What question was he talking about?"

-_baka__- _-_baka__- _-_baka__-_

Hotaru puts away her baka gun in her bag.

* * *

**A/N:** You see it doesn't sound like such a crazy idea after all right?

Okay it still does… But I mean… right?

I've thought up three possible developments for the story from this point, and I'm too lazy to create a poll and wait for it to be answered so if you wanna vote do so in a review:

**NUMBER 1 **Will probably include character death, to be honest and because it's obvious, yes I'm talking about Kaname-senpai. So there will be some crying and stuff.

**NUMBER 2** Mikan finding out Kaname was actually after Hotaru and resulting in her sulking in self-pity and Natsume coming to the rescue and blah blah you know the rest.

**NUMBER 3 **Hotaru/Natsume walking into a Mikan kissing Kaname (or Kaname kissing Mikan? They can't really tell) so this whole misunderstanding will happen and then, well you know…

It's not like I'm going to tell which the chosen one was, or which I would chose…

And it's not like it's all gonna happen in next chapter, that's why I said development…

Anyways hope you enjoyed the chapter despite the odd pairing I just invented.

Make sure to vote which of the three developments you like better.

Ja ne minna-san!


	18. About Time

**A/N****:** And she updated!

So without further ado I present you the long awaited chapter 18!

**Disclaimer****:** Still don't own…

**Chapter 18 About Time****.**

**(Normal PoV)**

"How do you even know she's gonna be there?" Natsume asks as he walks faster trying to keep up with Hotaru's pace.

"I've known Mikan for a long time, and I know she's going to be there. Where else would she go?"

"I don't know, back home maybe?" he throws a suggestion.

"Not a chance. She wants to see him again, and that's the only place she knows she's certain to find him." Hotaru suddenly stops abruptly as they reach the end of a street leading to a small park and starts looking around.

"C'mon it's not like she'll stalk his house until he-." He closes his mouth the moment he sees Mikan sitting on the swings staring at a big white house.

"You were saying?"

Natsume scoffs and starts walking up to Mikan only to be immediately stopped by Hotaru. "What are you doing? I'll just go fetch her and take her back home so-."

"_Shush_!" she whispers pointing at Kaname approaching her from the behind and pulling him back.

"Kaname-senpai!" Mikan shouts jumping off the swing and smiling. "I was waiting for you."

He smiles back "Is that so? Then sorry to make you wait."

"It's nothing; if it's for Kaname-senpai then I'd wait forever." She walks up to him.

Natsume scowls at the scene playing in front of him and then at Hotaru who is still holding him down. "_Let go off me, if this goes on like this then he'll-."_

"_I can't let you interrupt."_She answers coldly.

"_But I thought you said-."_

"_As long as Mikan is happy and smiling I don't' care."_

"_Even at the cost of your own happiness?"_He asks trying to convince her to let him stop this madness, or at least that what he thought this whole thing was, madness.

"_If that's what it takes."_She answers flatly, even though she realizes that this isn't bothering her half as much as it's bothering Natsume. '_Even so if Mikan's is happier this way I guess it can't be helped.'_She thinks.

"I was thinking we could go somewhere and maybe talk, I have so many things I want to tell you!" Mikan chirps happily. "Ever since Kaname-senpai left so many things happened!"

"Well it's a pity but I have some things to do before school and…" Kaname looks at her smiling face and can't help but feel like he can't say no. "I promise that we'll definitely go tomorrow. What do you say?"

Mikan nods. "It's a date then." He says before kissing her on the forehead and walking into the big white house.

Natsume clenches his fists and growls softly.

Why was this getting to him so much? This Kaname person, why did he piss him off to such a degree? It's like the sole mention of his name repulsed him for some reason. And to think that for a second there he thought he was a decent guy.

"_I forbid you to get in the way."_ Hotaru whispers before he can even start forming a plot inside his head to break those two apart.

"_I thought you said you were in love with him and couldn't stand the thought of Mikan being with him because of what he did to her."_

"_I never said such a thing, and if he's the one that can make Mikan happy then I will not let you get in the way."_

"W_hat about you then? If she-."_

"_Haven't you thought that maybe you're not doing this for me but for YOU?"_ she finally releases his hand and walks away leaving him to ponder on her words.

'_What does this have to do with me?'_ he thinks confused. (A/N: Talk about dense…)

He starts walking down the road heading home and unconsciously ends up at the gates of the Hyuuga mansion. '_Force of habit…'_ he sighs and stares at the huge golden "H" for a moment too long.

This wasn't his home anymore. How could he have forgotten about that? He'd decided to give up his life in that house for… what was the reason again?

Oh right, Hotaru that was it… wait no it wasn't. But if it wasn't her then what was?

Was it that he was really so against the idea of marrying Luna that he'd willingly give everything up just because of that?

No, that wasn't it either. If that was the reason he would have left years ago.

What was it then? Oh that's right! He'd done it to stay at Alice Gakuen! Now that he thought about it wasn't that pretty stupid of him? Ever since he entered that high school he'd complained about hating it and every student in it. So why give everything up to stay in such a place? No, that couldn't be the reason.

And yet the more he thought about it the more he realized it was. Whatever possessed him at the time he left the house after being given that last chance to go back kept making him think that he had to stay at Alice Gakuen, no matter what .

Why had he thought such a thing! Give up everything for some brats who were his "friends" just because Mikan had said so! What the hell was he thinking! Since when did he care so much for those people?

Since when did he care about Miss. Popularity! The same person who'd ridiculed him countless times and suddenly became his friend just for the sakes of passing math! WHAT!

It had all happened so fast he didn't even notice when he'd actually come to regard her as a friend and not the enemy.

And now here he was… he had to admit he felt like the world's biggest moron, being taken by the flow like that…

"I heard from your father that you weren't planning to come back." He hears a girl's voice from behind him. "Do I really repulse you so much that you'd leave your family and home to get rid of me?"

"It's not what you think. This is a war that's been waiting to start for years now; you were just caught in the middle." He says turning around to look at Luna in the eyes.

"Why can't you reconsider it? Your father would gladly forgive you and still you are so stubborn. I can only think it is because you hate me."

"I don't." and it was true, he didn't hate her, but that didn't mean he loved her enough to marry her.

"Then why won't you come back? I'm sure you don't love me now, I can tell… but maybe in time." She grabs one of his hands and stares pleadingly into his eyes. "At least give me a chance…_please"_ she whispers getting closer to him each second.

So what was there to be doubtful about? A girl was right here practically throwing herself at him and accepting her would probably make his whole life a lot easier.

And maybe she wasn't as pretty as Mikan, and maybe she didn't have that way of making him smile for no good reason like Mikan did, and maybe she-.

Wait! Why was he even comparing her to Mikan! What did she have to do with any of this! URGH! He couldn't even get rid of her when she wasn't around! Something was seriously wrong with him.

But looking at Luna right now, she didn't seem all that bad. If he squinted very hard she could even resemble Mi- never mind.

He had to make a choice now. Hold on, choice? What choice? Like he had one! It was Luna or nothing. He'd already given up on Hotaru, and Mikan already had Kaname (not that it mattered to him) so what was there to think about?

Yeah, he'd go back home marry Luna and live happily ever after that wasn't so bad... It all made sense in his head, and yet there was something preventing him from reaching forward and kissing the girl in front of him.

"_So…"_ Luna whispers cracking one eye open to see what he was doing. What was taking him so long? Like he had a lot to think about! Koizumi Luna was standing there in front of him ready to kiss him and he did nothing! What was up with this guy? "_Natsume…"_

He abruptly backs away making her fall to the ground. What was up with him! Why did everything keep remind him of Mikan right now!

That time at the rooftop when she said his name for the first time, or the time he held her in his arms in his room as she cried, or that time she kissed him when she thought she was drunk, or that time she just flat out kissed him (although it was embarrassing to admit, that was in fact his first kiss.)

He shakes his head furiously trying to get her out of his head. "I need time to think!" he says holding his head with both hands.

"I understand." She answers, even though he didn't mean that for her, he meant it for himself.

He says nothing and runs off to nowhere, just runs.

Luna huffs in annoyance and dials a number in her cell-phone. "Looks like it's gonna be harder than we thought." She says to the receiver.

* * *

**(Natsume's PoV)**

I run all the way back to the park near the mall that I had been at a few days ago and sit at the exact same spot I did that day to try and clear my head.

"_Why is it that you have this effect on me? Even though I-…"_ ARGH WHY DO HER WORDS KEEP REPEATING IN MY HEAD!

"_Natsume…"_ STOP!

"_You look better like that…"_SHUT UP! "_No, I mean when you smile."_

"_It's just that… your eyes… they are like… like fire."_PLEASE STOP TORMENTING ME! _"I mean it in a good way."_

"_Ano ne Natsume… I think I might have accidentally…"_LEAVE ME ALONE!

"_Fallen for you..."_NO! It can't be! GET OUT OF MY HEAD! That's not what she said!

"_I say Mikan is the best thing I have in this rotten world no matter what you say!"_NO! "_Mikan… and I sure as hell love her."_THAT'S NOT IT! I was just acting!

"_I didn't know you were such a hopeless… actor…"_She didn't mean it that way!

"_I can't act to save my own life…"_I wasn't…

"_Me too…"_She wasn't trying to…

**How long do you intend to remain in denial?**

I'm not!

**Oh really? Then what do you call the act of denying something even though it is true and you know it?**

I said I'm not!

**You know… accepting it is the first step for recovery…**

I do not need to recover from anything! There's nothing wrong with me!

**Sure there's not… that's why you're sitting in a park arguing with yourself…**

Oh god, there is something wrong with me! I'm going insane!

**Yes you are… and you wanna know the reason?**

Don't say it!

**Oh? Why not? If it's not true then why does it bother you?**

Because it does!

**They say truth hurts more than lies. Maybe that's the reason.**

IT'S NOT TRUE! I AM NOT IN LOVE WITH SAKURA MIKAN!

**Huh? How did you know I was talking about that?**

Because you said-.

**I never said such a thing, you thought about it on your own…**

Stop playing mind games with me! You ARE me!

**I'm not playing mind games… I'm just trying to help.**

Well you're not helping! Leave me alone!

**Not until you admit it…**

I will never admit to such a thing.

**Coward…**

I AM NOT A COWARD!

**Oh really, then how about chicken?**

I'm not a chicken!

**Scared-cat?**

I am not scared!

**Hmm? Then what do you call a person who's too scared to face reality when it hits them on the face? Oh I know! Hyuuga Natsume…**

HEY! Enough! I said I'm not scared!

**Then why don't you admit it?**

Because it's not true!

**Yes it is, and you know it. What other reason is there for you to be jealous of Kaname or apprehensive of accepting Luna?**

That's because…

"…_I'll kiss the next person I see, no matter who it is!"_

AH! WHY DID YOU DO THAT!

**You still haven't done it… If you don't love her what's the big deal? An oath is an oath. But if you're too scared to fulfill it that means you're afraid you might feel something for her.**

Why am I even listening to you?

**He's gonna take her away you know? That guy Kaname… if you don't do something quickly…**

I…

**Are you gonna give up so easily? I mean she's the girl you love right? The reason you gave up your life as a Hyuuga and decided to stay at Alice Gakuen. If you don't do something she'll get taken away…**

It can't be… the reason I decided to stay was… Mikan? You're kidding right? I couldn't possibly… I mean could I really be…

…In love with Mikan?

That would certainly explain a lot I guess… Still…

I stand up and walk a couple of blocks before deciding I don't feel like walking anymore so I take a cab to Mikan's place, a.k.a the place I'm currently living at. It doesn't surprise me to see she's not around when I enter the building.

I take a quick shower and head directly for my bed not feeling hungry at all.

Could I really be in love with the same person I've despised for the past year and a half? Just because I spent a week with her and I'm living with her doesn't mean… That sure sounds weird.

I'll just sleep for now; tomorrow will be another day I hope…

**-Next morning-**

I get out of bed and do my morning routine. I'm surprised when I walk out of the room and Mikan isn't there. I wonder if she even came back at all.

I decide that she probably already left for school and do the same.

It surprises me even more when I enter the classroom and she's sitting at the back far away from my seat, the place where she used to sit before this whole make over thing.

I take my sit regardless and Luna walks up to me smiling and sits next to me. I look at Mikan for a moment but she's staring out of the window paying no mind to my existence. I wonder if she's thinking about him.

Imai catches me staring at her and whispers "_So you've finally noticed…"_ she's still sitting next to me like she's been since Monday. I look at her puzzled and she continues "_You like her."_ is all she says before turning to her notebook.

So it is true then.

I Hyuuga Natsume am in love with Sakura Mikan.

Who would have guessed that? (A/N: *cough* um how about… EVERYONE?)

The rest of the day went like in slow motion. I couldn't talk to her even once, and I couldn't wait for school to finish so that I could.

And before I realize I am following her down the street up to Kaname's house. I watch her as she rings the doorbell and as she throws her arms around his neck when he walks out the door. I see how she links her arm with his and they start walking down the road.

I can feel the same feeling I got yesterday as I watched him kiss her forehead building up inside of me. How could I have not noticed this before? I'm such an idiot! I start walking up to them but I'm suddenly pulled backwards by someone.

"I thought I said not to get in the way." Imai tells me trying to sound menacing.

"Sorry, no can do."

"Don't you think you're being too selfish?"

"Don't you think you're being too selfless?"

"My business with Sonou Kaname is done. I have nothing to do with him anymore."

"What do you mean? So you're handing Mikan to him? Just like that? I thought you hated him because of what he'd done to her!" my voice starts rising with every word.

Imai slaps me across the face but still keeps her composed façade "Don't use my words to your convenience and don't try to use me as an excuse. I have nothing to do with this anymore."

"Then why do you keep getting in my way?"

"Because if what you do hurts Mikan in any way-."

"I thought you said you wanted to make her forget about him and whatnot."

"I did, but that was before you made me realize it was not his fault and maybe he's the one that can actually bring Mikan back, not you."

For some reason those words hurt like a million knives.

"You'll do good to forget about her, I've already forgotten about him." She turns her eyes away from me; I can tell that she's hiding something like her strong emotionless character demands.

"But I can't do the same." I say aloud without realizing. I quickly run off in pursuit of Mikan and that guy and from the background I hear Imai yelling my name.

As soon as I catch up with them I see a scene I wish I'd never have to witness.

There they were, Mikan and Kaname, her arms around his neck…

And her lips on his lips…

* * *

**(Normal PoV) -Before the kiss-**

"And then Natsume passed out and I had to drag him to his house!" Mikan says laughing wholeheartedly "and then we had to make his family believe I was his girlfriend! And his father was so angry."

Kaname walks silently beside her and smiles gently at her listening to her whole tale about Hyuuga Natsume, that's all she'd been talking about since they left his house.

"And then he had to trick his dad into signing! He was so lucky that I suddenly burst in!" she looks at his face and notices he looks sort of distracted. "Kaname-senpai, are you okay?"

"Eh? Um…" he snaps back to reality "Yeah, he sure sounds like a nice person, Natsume. You seem to be pretty good friends…"

She nods and smiles "But the one I like is Kaname-senpai!" she blushes and looks away. "Um… Kaname-senpai…" she stares at the ground not being able to meet his gaze and not uttering a word.

"Mikan-chan…" he says softly "I'm glad that you feel that way about me but…" here it came, the rejection, after all she really wasn't good enough for him. "But I have to ask, are you sure I'm the one you are really in love with?"

Huh? That wasn't what she expected… "Of course I am! Kaname-senpai has always been kind to me and even when no one else would acknowledge the real me Kaname-senpai did! He's always been the person I like the most!"

"What about Hotaru-chan then? Didn't she also acknowledge you when no one else did? And what about Natsume, didn't you just say he also accepted the real you too?"

"NO! It's not the same… Hotaru is almost like a sister to me, and Kaname-senpai is-."

"Like an older brother?" he provides for her.

Her eyes widen. No, it wasn't that, she really did love him! How could she prove him that she did? And then she thinks of the only way to prove him wrong.

Without any warning she wraps her arms around his neck, closes her eyes and kisses his lips.

Suddenly she opens her eyes and blinks a couple of times before pulling away and staring at him with a shocked expression. He was right, the feeling she got was… like she was kissing a family member, not a lover.

It was totally different from the time she'd kissed "_Natsume…"_ she mumbles.

Far from proving him wrong she'd proved him right, all this time thinking she was in love with him and trying to make him proud was just… like trying to make a brother proud?

But she'd been so sure he was the one… when had that feeling changed? When did she start thinking of Kaname as a brother? Or had she really ever considered him something more?

And before she can say anything, out of nowhere Natsume comes rushing their way and punches Kaname square on the face making him fall to the ground with a loud thud.

"Kaname-senpai!" Mikan kneels down beside him "Are you alright?" she asks helping him up. "What the hell is your problem!" she yells at Natsume angrily.

From behind a tree Hotaru is watching everything and shaking her head slowly "_You overdid it you baka…"_she mutters under her breath.

Natsume gasps and doesn't know what to do when he comes to his senses and realizes what he just did. "I…" he looks at Mikan's face and feels a pang of guilt hitting his stomach. Without wasting another second he runs off at a loss for anything smarter to do.

"Are you sure it's fine to let him go like that?" Kaname interrupts the million thoughts running through her head. "I think he might have misunderstood that kiss just now that's why he did that. He was probably jealous and didn't know what else to do."

"Natsume jealous… that's impossible. He doesn't think of me that way…" she explains to her senpai sounding rather sad to have to admit it.

"You'll never know if you don't ask him." Hotaru comes out of her hiding place "But if you don't go now it may be too late." She urges Mikan as she starts growing impatient.

"Hotaru when did you-?"

"That's not what matters right now is it?"

Mikan stares at her best friend and the look in her eyes is enough to tell her that Hotaru clearly knows something she doesn't. She nods and mouths a quick "thanks" before rushing to chase Natsume.

* * *

**(Mikan's PoV)**

It's no good; even if I keep running aimlessly I don't know where he went. If I were him where would I go?

The last time something like this happened I found him at that park but… I doubt he'd go back there now… we're not even close by.

The school… no, that's the first place I would go looking for him… If I didn't want someone to find me I'd go to the last place where they would look… Where would be the last place I'd think he'd go?

Ah! I got it!

I turn right on a corner as I start making my way to the Hyuuga mansion and true enough, there I see Natsume standing at the gates starting absentmindedly at them. A smile finds its way to my lips as I start walking up to him and it's replaced with a deep frown as soon as I notice the gate opening up. He's going back!

All of a sudden Hotaru's words make sense to me "It may be too late." I can't wait another second. If I don't do something now he'll go back to his father and to Luna.

I can't let that happen, not before I tell him…

* * *

**(Normal PoV)**

"NATSUME!" Mikan shouts running up to him.

He's quickly woken up from his trance-like state and stares at her dumbfounded. What the hell was she doing here? And why wasn't she with her beloved _Kaname_. Ugh that name seemed to make his mouth taste like dirt.

When she reaches his side she stops and tries to speak but finds herself unable to, due to the heavy panting and also due to the fact that she didn't know what to say. I mean what was she supposed to tell him? "I'm sorry, I love you?"

Oh… that didn't sound so bad… Actually it sounded perfect.

"I'M SORRY!" she blurts out loudly not being able to control the volume of her voice "I LOVE YOU" and then she drops on her knees panting not being able to stand up anymore.

Natsume stares at her with an expression of utter shock, happiness, bewilderment, flat out confusion, and… well… I think you get the point.

Somehow this wasn't the outcome either of them was expecting but well, it certainly served its purpose.

For the millionth time in a week this girl had left him speech, reaction and motionless. She certainly knew how to manage the surprise factor I'll give you that.

"Why?" is all he manages to throw out as he slowly walks up to her and kneels to meet her eye level.

"What do you mean why? What kind of an answer is why!"

"I'm not sure what else to say…" he confesses.

"Well you could say 'me too' or 'I hate you crazy hag get out of my property' I don't know…" she says looking away.

'_I'll kiss the next person I see, no matter who it is!'_ he suddenly remembers.

"Mikan, would you mind helping me fulfill an oath?" he asks completely serious.

She looks up at him like he'd just spoken in some extraterrestrial language and before she can even blink he crashes his lips on hers. And then it happens. The feeling she'd been waiting for, like the whole world had just disappeared and it was only her and Natsume in it.

She was right, it was completely different with Kaname, and right now all that mattered to her was him. She felt like she had to hold him for dear life, that if she let go now she would fall down some deep abyss. She couldn't think of anything, she didn't even know when her arms had found their way to his neck but she knew she wasn't about to let go.

It was the same as that first time they'd kissed in her house, only this time it was even better, she guessed it was because of the feelings it represented now… Ah but what did she know?

The moment they break apart they stare into each other's eyes and suddenly burst into laughter for no reason. They both stand up and Natsume is the first to speak.

"Let me say this first, I love you, you crazy hag." He sighs deeply "Now that that's out of the way I gotta ask you something."

"Um, sure…"

"Why didn't you go back home yesterday and why did you ignore me today?"

"I did go back home yesterday but you were sleeping, and I had to leave early because I had morning duty at school." Natsume was feeling pretty stupid at this point.

"And I wasn't ignoring you, you were ignoring me! Staring with that scary expression all day, I thought you were mad at me for something…"

'_It wasn't a scary expression; I was trying to figure out why she was pissed…'_ he sweat-drops. So it had been a misunderstanding…

"What about the date with _Kaname_ and the… _kiss…_" he couldn't help it, it still made his mouth taste like dirt.

"Oh…" Mikan blushes and looks away "Um I guess you could call it a test…"

He didn't need any more explanation, he kind of got the picture it had been something like what had happened with Luna and himself, only that he didn't like Luna to begin with so he didn't need to try to kiss her, thankfully.

"I don't want to have to destroy this touching moment, but if you'd both please look at the two figures approaching you from the mansion…" Natsume and Mikan both look at the source of the voice.

"Imai?" he asks confused.

"And Kaname-senpai, what are you doing here?"

"Well if you must know, we followed you." Hotaru answers simply. "But more importantly…" she points at Luna and Satoshi (Natsume's dad) walking up to them.

"Do you think we should run?" Natsume asks looking at Mikan.

She nods "We can handle them some other day right?" she winks at him and he smiles.

"My thoughts exactly." He takes her hand in his and they take off to Mikan's house, but not before he sticks his tongue out at his father and shouts "Sorry, as I thought I'm not cut out to be a Hyuuga after all!" and laughs as he sees the priceless expression on his face.

"About time…" Hotaru groans after they are both out of sight earning a weird look from Kaname.

"What do you mean about time?"

Hotaru looks at him with her usual poker face. "It's a long story…"

"Well I have a lot of time…"

Hotaru sighs "I guess it can't be helped, since you helped today it's the least I can do."

"And will you answer the question I asked all that time ago?"

"I don't know what you're talking about…"

"Of course you do." He smiles sweetly at her "That day when I invited you for tea to my house and I gave you that stuffed animal, I told you to name it after the person most important to you. And then when I asked you what name you'd given to it you refused to answer…"

"Oh… if it was about that then…" she thinks about it for a moment "I didn't give it a name." she starts walking towards the same direction Mikan had run off to "_…yet."_ She adds as an afterthought.

"Let me know when you do…" he says catching up to her, she just shrugs in response.

* * *

**A/N****:** SO I hope you liked it and that it was at least worth waiting for. Anyhow thanks to all my readers and reviewers and thanks to everyone.

**To be continued…**


	19. Second Thoughts

**A/N****:** Hope you enjoy it.

**Disclaimer****:** You get the idea already right? I don't own.

**Chapter 19 Second Thoughts**

**(Normal PoV)**

"I told you it was going to be harder than we thought…"

"This is unbelievable. That brat just doesn't give up."

"Well it's not just her; your son is also quite the pain to convince."

"Even bringing Sonou's son back didn't work." Satoshi props his elbows on the desk and intertwines his fingers in front of his face.

"That was your doing! How did you -?"

"Don't make me laugh, girl. I could have done much more than that had I wanted to." He glares at Luna, the lower half of his face covered by his hands giving him a much more menacing look.

"Then why didn't you? You could crush that girl anytime you want and yet you are just slacking off! At this rate she'll -." She slams her fist on the desk.

"Do you honestly think you can intimidate me? If I take a wrong step I could step on a land mine, and we can not afford to make any more mistakes."

"This is not the time to be cautious! If you'd been more careful from the start then all of this wouldn't have-."

"I underestimated her. I had no idea I was dealing with _that man's_daughter."

"That man? You mean it's really true? That girl is _that_ Izumi's-."

He nods once "I thought I'd dealt with him back then, but apparently not."

Luna gasps as soon as she starts catching up "You are saying that you… you got rid of Izumi and his family!" this man was becoming scarier by the second. She couldn't believe he'd actually go as far as murdering someone.

"Well it seems not the _whole_ family. And besides it wasn't me who did it, I let that imbecile Masao handle it. That just goes to show that if you want a job well done you ought to do it yourself."

What was going on here?

From what he'd told her before, Izumi had been killed by the police, his wife had committed suicide and after her father's death their daughter had disappeared. So what was this all about? Murder? Making it look like a suicide? Was this some sort of sick joke?

"But- you said that the police had-." She needed to clarify this, maybe she was just jumping to conclusions.

"Don't be naïve girl. That was just a cover up. The police couldn't have caught that man in a thousand years."

"But even his wife and kid, what did they have to do with anything?" What kind of monster was this man?

His face darkened as he spoke his next words "Yuuka was a possible nuisance so I disposed of her." The sadistic tone in his voice would have been enough to match the devil himself; Luna at the very least got that feeling.

"But to think that that bastard would be using his daughter to get back at me, it seems I'm going to have to finish what Masao didn't finish all those years ago."

The look on his face at that moment made Luna's blood run cold. He was dead serious about this. He was planning to 'dispose' of Mikan. Even that was too much for her. She couldn't let this go any further. She had to tell someone about it she had to warn the poli-

"And you my dear are going to help me." He suddenly got off his chair and stood right in front of her grabbing her chin between his fingers forcing her to look into his eyes and glaring down at her fiercely. "You know what will happen to you if you betray me."

Luna started shaking and tears welled up in her eyes. She couldn't move an inch, she was frozen in fear. What the hell was she supposed to do! Her brain screamed for her to run away but her body just wouldn't respond. And the disgusting grin on his face showed how much he was enjoying all of this which only added to the terror she was feeling.

This man was completely insane, and if she didn't do as he said he wouldn't hesitate to make her disappear without a trace.

As soon as he releases her she collapses onto the ground. It takes her a while before she regains her composure and stands back up.

"The question is… are you or are you not on my side?"

Her brain completely shuts down as she raises her head to look at him. There was no hint of any regret or doubt in his eyes. And for an instant she could swear she saw the depths of hell in them, the dark flames of eternal torment blazing in those eyes that seemed to be calling to her, provoking her, offering her everything and anything she could ever ask for and more.

She couldn't help but feel tempted by that offer, although probably no one could have helped it. He emanated such confidence, it was impossible not to be taken in by this master trickster. She imagined for a brief second that the real reason Hyuugas had those piercing blood-red eyes was because this man had made a contract with the devil and those eyes were the way to mark him and his family as 'cursed'.

"Are you?" he repeats to snap her out of her trance.

He had caught her between the wall and the sword, and she most certainly did not want to suddenly 'vanish'. He left her no choice. It wasn't her fault, it was his. She couldn't be one to blame. Her conscience was at peace and nothing could change that. He had cornered her she was just an innocent poor little girl being threatened by one of the (if not the most) fearsome man in the world. There was no way she could have possibly helped what happened afterwards.

As he extends his right hand towards her she instinctively raises her shaking arm and gets a hold of his. A vile grin appears on his face and his sickening megalomaniacal laugh echoes throughout the gloomy office.

She stares down at his hand shaking hers, and then at the room around her. The colors seemed to have become duller, the air felt thicker and the atmosphere heavier. She felt like she didn't belong in her body anymore.

"You made the right choice." He says before releasing her hand and letting it drop to her side.

When she finally turns her gaze back to his face she tries to search frantically for that enticing ruby-red to find reassurance only to encounter pitch-black staring back at her maliciously. And it was only then she realized what had just happened. She was the one who had sold her soul to the devil, and there was no turning back now.

"You probably want to know what really happened to Yukihira Izumi." He says walking over to his desk and sitting down.

She nods stiffly once, her dreary eyes never leaving his figure.

Satoshi smirks and stares at her as if she were a puppet. A will-less hollow puppet, and the funny thing was that, that was exactly how she felt.

"Very well then"

* * *

**-Flashback- 16 years ago –**

Yukihira Izumi and his wife Azumi Yuuka both stare through the window of their small apartment that was barely big enough for them and their soon to be born daughter. It was no huge mansion with hundreds of servants but it was home to them and they were happy with it. They didn't really need a monstrous palace to be content after all.

Somehow they had managed to make room for Yuuka's father in their humble home; he was after all the only family member she had left besides her husband, and Izumi didn't have anyone left except for Masao who had made it perfectly clear he wanted nothing to do with him ever again, emphasizing the word **ever**. Not after that incident during high school.

When Izumi turned 15 he was enrolled in Alice Gakuen where he met Masao for the first time. At that time Sakura Masao was Yuuka's boyfriend.

He had struck him as a fairly nice guy despite his stuck up attitude and conceited behavior, they were good friends for sometime. That was until Masao's father informed him about Izumi's lineage.

His father Yukihira Atsushi - Masao's mother's first cousin- had stained the family name by eloping with one of the maids from the main house, taking part of the family's money never to be heard from again.

After a not very adult-like argument they ended up in pretty bad terms with each other. Izumi called him a brainless moron who couldn't think for himself and opted to let daddy do that for him, and Masao… well let's just say he went the "talk to the fist" way.

They didn't talk again after that, and after a while it became taboo to talk about one of them in the presence of the other.

Azumi Yuuka, princess of Alice Gakuen, the most beautiful and kind girl in the whole school by popular vote; also known to be off-limits to all boys due to the fact that she was Masao's fiancée and it was common knowledge to every person that whoever messed with Masao messed with Hyuuga Satoshi, probably the scariest guy the school had ever known.

Her marriage into the Sakura family had been decided by her father and she didn't utter a word of complaint. It was the only way she could help him. The Azumi Group had once been a very important corporation that her father had created from scratch, but as the Hyuuga name started becoming more important Azumi started to steadily lose prestige.

The solution that came to them from the Sakura family was that if their two families merged with a marriage then their name could be saved. Of course they had ulterior financial motives of their own, they would be ridding themselves from a possible competitor and they would earn an ally to eventually crush the Hyuuga name; that was Sakura's plan.

Plan which never came true in the end, in stead they became business partners, but that's another story.

Yuuka being an only child could not refuse. In order to help her father she would do anything, even if it meant marrying Satoshi's puppet Masao.

Hyuuga Satoshi, Alice Gakuen's devil, contrary to what people thought, that title hadn't been given to him just because of his crimson eyes. He was the man nobody would want to mess with unless they had a death wish, and I mean it in a very literal way.

The only thing in his mind was business, everything he did had a motive and not one thing was left to chance. He was awarded the name of Master Trickster by his fellow students, it was widely known that he was able to talk himself out of any situation no matter how impossible it seemed, some even believed he could walk off with murder. He could convince anyone to do anything, and was scared of nothing.

The reason why he was friends with Masao was actually a mystery to everyone except for himself. He needed to be friends with the firstborn son of the Sakura family; he was going to buy them off eventually anyway so if he already had Masao on his side it would make matters so much easier.

A cold-blooded calculating man, he felt love for nothing or nobody, his thereafter marriage to Yukiko was also just business related, he never considered her as anything else but a tool to help him climb to the top of the social ladder. A king without a queen by his side is considered as nothing but a mere ogre; that was what he thought.

He controlled everything that happened around him and Izumi's and Yuuka's encounter wasn't the exception to that rule. The moment he heard the truth about him the whole plan formed in his head, the perfect way to make Masao his faithful lapdog who would follow him blindly anywhere he decided to go. This Izumi was a chance that had fallen to him straight from heaven, and he wasn't about to waste it.

When Izumi first saw Yuuka he thought nothing much of her. Just another brainless girl that could think of nothing but makeup and looking good for her equally brainless boyfriend, in this case he knew her boyfriend was Masao, which made it all the worse. But he was completely convinced otherwise after he talked to her only once.

They quickly became close friends and she told her everything about her family, how she was forced into that marriage for money reasons but she was willing to do it for her dad since he was the only family she had, her mother had died during labor so she didn't really know her, but she knew her father loved her a lot so she guessed she must have been a nice person.

The pain Izumi could see in her eyes reminded him a lot of his own mother's who would always make that face when talking about how guilty she felt for "screwing up Atsushi's relationship with his family" as she put it. It was the pain of regret that he saw in her eyes. He knew those eyes very well, but he couldn't bring himself to tell her that. He didn't want to make her suffer even more; he knew he wouldn't be able to bear to see her cry.

It wasn't until sophomore year that Satoshi planted the seed of doubt into Masao's head. Timing was the most important thing in this matter, and when he told Masao his beloved was cheating on him with none other than his own cousin, he snapped.

And Satoshi, being the faithful friend he was, offered his unconditional help to get back at Izumi for placing his dirty paws on the pure innocent Yuuka-san.

Izumi didn't even stand a chance against them. Of course Hyuuga called in many favors and gathered a lot of people to help them, and after that he sat back and enjoyed the show from afar, he wasn't about to get his own hands dirty for a lowlife like that. Masao only dealt the last blow and before Izumi lost consciousness he warned him never to step foot in Alice Gakuen again,**ever**.

He was sent to the hospital after that, the doctors said he had barely survived and that he was a very lucky man. '_Lucky my ass'_ he thought as he tried to wiggle his fingers with all his might but gave up as a pang of pain crawled up his arm.

He hadn't even done anything wrong. What the hell was wrong with that guy!

He knew very well there was nothing he could do about it. He knew Hyuuga was behind this, he had seen his disgusting grin behind the sea of fists that assaulted him out of nowhere. He was going to get back at him no matter what.

Ah what was the point anyway? He'd probably end up being beat up again, and maybe he wasn't going to be lucky enough to survive this time. Maybe it was best if he just disappeared from Japan altogether. Nobody would miss him anyway; his parents had passed away in that car crash two years ago, the money from their life insurance was used to pay for the school tuition.

He had once thought maybe they'd crashed on purpose for him to get the money…

Money…

… Money

IT WAS ALWAYS ABOUT **MONEY**!

His dad's family hated him not because he'd left; it was because he'd taken their **money**!

Yuuka was choosing that jackass Masao because of **money**!

His parents had killed themselves so that he could get the insurance **money**!

And what had they all gotten in the end in exchange for it? Pain

Suffering

They were being controlled by it and they didn't really need it. A person could live perfectly without billions of dollars raining over them, and there were so many people that really did need it to survive.

It just wasn't fair that those bastards slept comfortably in their exaggeratedly enormous mansions after beating up an innocent guy while there were people freezing outside victims of the unforgiving cold winter.

Somebody had to do something about it, and if no one else was up to the task he was going to do it. He'd throw away his present life and would become someone else.

He'd forget about Masao and Satoshi and…

"_Yuuka"_ He manages to whisper as he watches her slip into the room. "_What -?"_ his voice was coarse and raspy.

"Hey" she says sitting down on a chair next to his bed "You don't look so good." She comments casually.

"_You caught me on a bad hair day."_He barely pushes his bruised lips upward into a tiny smile.

"I'm sorry." She mutters reaching out for his hand. He attempts to move it away but finds himself incapable of such feat. She notices the twitch of his hand and immediately retreats her own looking guiltily at her lap.

"_It wasn't your fault. It was that bastard Hyuuga."_ His raspy voice makes him cough.

"But I was the one who-!"

With all the strength he can muster Izumi smiles fondly at her "_Hey, don't beat yourself up about it. You did nothing wrong. I should have known from the start that getting close to Masao's girl wouldn't-"_

"I'M NOT MASAO'S PROPERTY!" she shouts with teary eyes "I'm free to befriend whoever I wish!"

"_So you'd choose me over Masao?"_ He says before he can stop himself.

"Of course I would!" she holds his right hand between both of hers not caring if he wanted to move it away.

Izumi's eyes widen making some of the scars on his face reopen due to the sudden movement making him gasp lowly. He wasn't expecting that kind of answer. He was waiting for an 'I have no choice because my father needs the money' or something.

Before even stopping to think about the consequences of his words or considering all of the possible things that could go oh so wrong, a request escapes his mouth.

"_Come away with me Yuuka."_

She was left speechless.

"_You said you'd choose me over Masao right? Then do so."_ He felt like he was begging her "_I'll take care of everything. If it's your father you're worried about then let him come too."_

Yuuka suddenly bursts into tears and hides her face on his chest, pain quickly making it's way throughout his entire body, but he didn't flinch, he wasn't about to let her know how much it hurt.

"_I'm giving you the chance to decide what YOU want to do. You don't have to answer now, but I'm leaving this town as soon as I'm out of the hospital, so-."_

Between sobs and in a muffled voice he could only understand two words she said "_no_…_baka!"_

He felt completely heart broken, she'd choose him over Masao but she'd choose money over him? What kind of joke was this!

She sniffs and looks into his eyes wiping her tearstained cheeks with her sleeve smiling sweetly at him, a smile he couldn't understand.

"_Why are you smiling? Didn't you just say no?"_ He asks giving her a cold look.

Her smile grows even bigger and he becomes even more irritated. "I said: How could I say no baka!"

After that Yuuka kept visiting the same hospital room for two weeks until Izumi was finally discharged. That very same day they both stopped by her house and spoke to her father. She explained the whole situation to him and he hugged her tightly in response.

"The only thing I wanted…" he spoke into her ear "was for you to be happy, and if this young man can make you happy, then I have no reason to oppose your decision."

She told him that she wanted him to go with them; that she didn't want to leave him, and he agreed, he said he'd take care of some things and join them soon.

The next day Yuuka didn't show up at school… and no one saw her or Izumi again after that.

The last time someone knew anything about them was five years later when Hyuuga Satoshi and Sakura Masao found their bank accounts emptied and one last transaction record to a bank account under the name of "_Yoroshiku YIaAY"_

"Best regards Yukihira Izumi and Azumi Yuuka." Izumi explains as he transfers all the money to various bank accounts around Japan and finally closes that account to leave no evidence but that message for his two high school "buddies".

"Why does your name have to go first anyway?" she asks as they burn the fake they used to open the bank account.

"I don't know… what difference does it make?"

She shrugs "So what do we do now?"

"Now we go back home and rest. I don't want you to stress out to much, what are we going to do if anything happens to little Mikan?" he says rubbing her still flat belly gently.

Almost a year goes by and Izumi and Yuuka become known as THE most wanted bank hackers. Their work was so polished it became nearly impossible for the police to track them down, after all, millions of accounts are opened and closed every day around the world, and of course they'd developed various ways to shake their pursuers off.

Their system worked perfectly and it even came to the point that people started opening new bank accounts and posting them on the internet for "YIaAY" (The name the media gave them) to transfer money into them until it was forbidden and punished by law saying it was cooperating with an international criminal.

They had to move around a lot to keep themselves hidden, changing from place to place and from job to job, and even then they were happy because were ever they went they had a home, they had their family, no matter how small.

Hyuuga Satoshi knew better than to tell the police he had information about who this "YIaAY" person, or should he say persons, was. He knew they wouldn't find them anyway, and even if they did the punishment they'd give them wouldn't be enough for everything they'd done. No sentence any judge could give them would ever be enough in his opinion.

But he was one hundred percent certain it was them. It couldn't be anyone else. He was going to make that bastard pay for all he'd done to him.

No one outwitted the great Hyuuga Satoshi and lived to tell the tale. That man had become the pebble in his shoe ever since he decided not to run away after he had all those guys beat him up. He was sure he would run away and yet he didn't…

And taking Azumi with him was another unexpected factor. His business with Sakura was delayed because of that… that bastard was the only person in the world who had been able to humiliate him, and he wasn't going to tolerate it.

He was going to find him and make sure he wouldn't live to see the sun again, **ever**.

Surprisingly it was easier done than said in this case. They had changed their identities but there was one person with them who hadn't. Yuuka's father, they hadn't bothered to change his, there was no need to if no one knew who they were. But Satoshi knew.

He called Masao and let him know about it. His thirst for vengeance was exactly what he needed to rid himself of Yukihira and Azumi.

Masao sent her a letter as soon as he got the news from his friend about Yuuka's whereabouts.

"_My dear Yuuka,_

_I know you are the ones behind this. Come back to me and I will spare him. Tonight 8 o'clock. You know where_."

The moment she read it, she knew he didn't want her back.

She knew it was game over for her and Izumi.

She glanced over at her baby; she was sound asleep in her crib. Poor little Mikan, she couldn't bear to get her mixed up into this. She didn't want her to have to be involved with a Sakura or a Hyuuga ever.

She had to hide her somehow, but as long as she was by her side she wouldn't be safe. There was only one thing she could do.

She took Masao's letter and burned it. She approached Mikan's crib and kissed her forehead. "_You will always be Yukihira Mikan."_ She whispered and a tear drop fell on Mikan's small face.

She walked out of the apartment slowly and looked back only once knowing she would never come back.

"_Good bye Mikan."_She whispered to the wind.

Downstairs at the entrance of the building she found her father and husband waiting for her. Both of them already understood. Izumi had received a similar letter.

Without saying a word Yuuka hugged her father tightly "I'm so sorry!" she cried as he smoothed her hair. "Please when she grows up, tell Mikan that…" she sniffed "Tell her I didn't mean for things to come to this and that I love her now and always." She wiped her teary eyes with the back of her hand. "Also that I'm sorry we had to leave her but that we will always be watching over her and she'll never be alone, **ever**."

She released him and cried even more when she noticed the unshed tears in his eyes. "Good bye for now my dear daughter" he looked at Izumi who only nodded grimly.

"I hope you will be able to forgive me someday." He said with his eyes cast down in shame.

"There is nothing to forgive, son." He extended a hand towards him but Izumi hugged him in stead.

"We leave Mikan in your care." was the last thing he said before he walked away with Yuuka hand in hand.

When the clock struck 8 Izumi looked at Yuuka in the eyes and kissed her one last time.

"_I love you"_he whispered.

"_For all eternity"_ she whispered back.

Those were the last words that Yukihira Izumi and Azumi Yuuka ever uttered.

"How touching" a cold voice said from behind them before a gunshot was heard and Izumi's body fell limply to the hard floor.

"You know I expected more from you Yuuka…" Masao's voice dripped pure rage even though he was speaking so calmly. "You could have avoided all of this had you stayed with me."

She didn't reply. She wanted her last words to be those she'd said to Izumi.

"Aren't you going to beg for your life?" he said pointing the gun at her head.

She stared into his eyes filled with raw hatred and for the first time felt pity for him but still refused to answer.

"Fine then, have it your way." He looked at her up and down. "I hope you rot in hell." And without even hesitating he pulled the trigger finally ridding the world of the infamous "YIaAY".

From a car parked a couple of meters away Hyuuga Satoshi was watching everything, a malicious grin on his face, his red eyes glinting with mirth.

"Farewell my witty pebbles."

He rejoiced in his triumph and thought what they should write in their tombstones. "Here lie Yukihira Izumi and Azumi Yuuka, non-living proof that no one can trick the Master Trickster." He said and laughed sadistically.

* * *

**(Normal PoV)**

Luna stands in shock not being able to move a muscle, a million thoughts running through her head.

"I only found out about the girl four years later when she fell under Masao's care." He grabs a cigar from a small box on his desk and lights it "To think that now she's become the pebble in my shoe…" He takes a puff and blows a smoke ring over his head. "I just can't seem to rid myself of you Yukihira."

Luna's mouth fell agape. Did he really not feel any guilt at all? Her body didn't seem to respond and apparently Satoshi found this incredibly annoying.

"Are you going to stare at me like a fish all day?" he glares at her "If so get out of my sight this instant." He commands irritated.

As if she were under some sort of trance she starts moving and leaves the office closing the door softly behind her.

Satoshi leans back on his chair and looks at the different shapes the smoke from his cigar forms and becomes submerged into what he believed were long forgotten memories. He hadn't thought about Yukihira in so many years he had started to think maybe it had all been a distant dream.

It seemed unconceivable to even consider that Hyuuga Satoshi was being tormented by one man who had been dead for over sixteen years and yet, here he was sitting in silence in his office staring at the ceiling. Since when did he waste his time staring dumbly at nothingness? How could he get any more pathetic?

From the moment that girl had appeared things had gotten out of hand, even Natsume now thought he could make decisions on his own.

And suddenly he realized he wasn't in control of everything anymore. A strange foreign feeling started creeping from his stomach; he shrugged it off as a common stomachache due to over stress.

Sixteen years ago, he recalled, back when he had Izumi dealt with, he remembered feeling something similar, what had Masao called it again? Ah yes, guilt. He didn't have that… he remembered clearly telling him that feeling guilt meant admitting to yourself you had done something wrong, which he of course had not, he never did anything wrong.

Still that didn't change the fact that every time he saw that girl or even heard her name being mentioned he would feel his insides twisting in discomfort. Maybe he just didn't have the stomach to digest this girl. He chuckled lowly at his own stupid pun before groaning as the pain became even worse. He opened his desk drawer and felt around searching for his antacids.

He needed to finish off this girlfriend issue before he got a peptic ulcer… He held his side tightly when he felt his interior turning... '_It might already be too late for that too'_ he thinks as he downs two antacids without a second thought or a glass of water.

* * *

Mikan combed her hair in front of the mirror as she thought about what had happened a couple of hours ago. She had just outright confessed to two guys in less than ten minutes. That had to be a world record, okay maybe not, but it was probably very close.

Just remembering it made her feel embarrassed and flustered. She had not expected any of that to happen, not in a thousand years. Her and Natsume? If someone had told her that a week ago she would have honestly laughed in that person's face and not the giggly cute kind of laugh either.

This whole situation just seemed completely unreal to her, and she was wondering if maybe she had just let herself get caught up in the moment. She couldn't understand what was about him that made her feel so safe, like she could be her real self without the fear of being judged. In fact he would judge her when she wasn't her real self.

He was the complete opposite of everyone she had ever met in her life. For her it was always the same, people telling her she needed to keep up an appearance, a mask so to speak, to make other people like her…

"_Being who you are is not good enough; you will never earn people's acceptance and respect that way."_That's what her father- no, her uncle had always told her.

"_That's stupid, if you go through life pretending to be someone you are not you'll eventually be found out and then it'll be worse. If you are yourself there's a chance many won't like you, but there will always be people like me who will…"_that's what Natsume had said, whether or not he realized the weigh of his words at the time.

It seemed like everything he told her meant so much to her for some reason, no one had ever been so bold or straightforward to her before, normally those who noticed she was faking were too scared to say anything about it, Hotaru had simply stopped trying, but Natsume was different…

So maybe saying "I love you" was a little bit over the top but there was no time for self-consciousness at that moment, sadly the moment was now, and she couldn't bear to see her flushed face in the mirror as she replayed the whole thing in her head.

"_I love you, you crazy hag."_ That had been his answer, and somehow she thought that she wouldn't have settled for any less than that and neither would he have, so it had been the right thing to say…

She had to stop over thinking about this- no good ever comes from that...

She sighs and puts the brush down. For a brief second wondering if he was thinking about it too. Perhaps she was thinking too little compared to him.

She smiles when an image of Natsume freaking out and pulling his hair crosses her mind. It made her feel a little relieved knowing she wasn't the only one reconsidering this.

She takes a deep breath and puts her hand on the doorknob mustering all the resolve she can to face him with a calm expression, at least one of them had to keep composure in this kind of situation…

She steps into the living room with her eyes closed and builds up some courage to speak.

"Okay, you can stop panicking now _Kazume_…" she knew she could break the tension by calling him that, he would ignore everything and concentrate on arguing she shouldn't call him that.

… Mikan waits in silence expecting an answer not daring to open her eyes, she can feel him staring at her and he is probably pissed after that, and he had every right to. Her face starts heating up as she pries an eye open to take a peek at his face and is shocked the instant she sees… nothing?

She fully opens her eyes and looks around in every direction, even behind her and finds herself completely alone standing at the doorway talking to no one. Mikan starts laughing out loud at the stupidity of the whole situation. She was feeling like a complete moron, getting all worked up for nothing, feeling nervous under the gaze of someone who wasn't really there, and for some reason she couldn't stop laughing.

He wasn't getting worked up about this, he wasn't wondering what she was thinking, he wasn't as concerned about this as she was, he was probably sleeping or doing something you would do on any other normal day… this was after all just another normal day, nothing special about it…

Her laughter finally dies out and she sits on the couch staring at the black TV screen. In the end there was no reason to be flustered… she knew she should feel glad it was that way but she couldn't help being a little disappointed.

She sighs deeply "It really was over the top…"

"What was?" Natsume's voice surprises her as he walks through the room.

"Um… the… I- the- you-." So much for calm…

"Right…" he throws a small square box at her accidentally hitting her on the head. "I thought you'd catch it…" he says pseudo-apologetically.

She stares weirdly at the red ribbon and the little card that reads ".U" on top of it. Mikan turns to him "What's this message about?" she asks confused.

"Well, it's as it says there. I owed you, that gift's my repayment, with all my gratitude of course. So I don't owe you anymore…"

Mikan huffs annoyed. He could have thought of a million better things to write or to say, what kind of thankfulness gift was this? Shouldn't it say something like "With love" or maybe a heart? "I owed you" what kind of man says such a thing to the woman he just told he loved!

"Aren't you gonna open it?" he interrupts her inner ranting.

She removes the lid from the little box and is for once in her life glad that she kept her mouth shut. Inside the box she finds a necklace with a round red stone that could almost look like a heart (if you squinted really hard and had a lot of imagination) hanging from it.

A big smile spreads on her face as she takes it out of the box and notices the drawing of a small heart with the words "With Love" written on it on the bottom of the box. She tangles the chain between her fingers and lets the small stone gently sway in front of her eyes.

"Are you gonna wear it or stare at it all day?" he says eyeing her with amusement, a smirk clearly visible on his face.

She extends the hand with the necklace to him and pulls her hair up with her free hand. Understanding her unspoken request Natsume walks up to her takes the piece of jewelry from her hand.

"_It's garnet."_ He whispers into her ear. "_January's birthstone."_ He adds as he finally manages to put it the right way.

Mikan blushes he even knew when her birthday was and she didn't even know his. "T- thanks." She manages to blurt after a while of silence.

"Don't mention it." He says sitting down on a chair opposite to her.

How could he be so calm? Mikan thought he was going to freak out and here he was being all… well… smooth and charming. She couldn't believe this was the same Natsume that had almost died of a heart attack when she kissed him.

'_Well at least one of us has to know how to stay calm…'_ he thinks eyeing the red stone hanging elegantly from her neck.

She had to counterattack quick "How's it look?" she asks placing one hand over her chest pointing at the necklace.

Natsume smirks as if he were expecting that question "Well…" he looks around the room pretending to consider what she asked. "I suppose it could be worse…" he looks into her eyes. "Or so Kazume would say…"

Mikan smiles fondly at him "What would Natsume say then?"

"I picked it specially thinking about you, of course it looks good!" he looks away realizing she had just tricked him. "That's what Natsume would say."

She finds herself completely endeared by his every word and action "_It wasn't over the top after all_…" she mutters to herself. "By the way, when's your birthday?" she asks changing the subject.

"Actually…" he looks at his wristwatch "It ends in about four minutes…"

"What! Why didn't you tell me before! You even got **me** a gift!" she stands up from the couch and walks up to him "Well since I don't have time to get you a gift then… I'll grant you any wish you want, you name it."

"Anything?" he asks after pondering about it for a while. She nods and before she can add another word he grabs her wrist and forces her to sit on his lap hugging her tightly.

Mikan gasps at the sudden movement but finally relaxes in his arms and wraps hers around him. "_Happy birthday…"_ she whispers at the same time the clock strikes twelve and snuggles even closer.

* * *

**A/N**: I hope you liked the chapter although it mainly revolved around the bastard Satoshi, character I'm beginning to hate myself, somehow he came out a lot eviler than I first intended on making him...

**To be continued…**


	20. Disappear

**A/N****:**Have fun reading this chapter. Hope you like it.

**Disclaimer****:** I don't own Gakuen Alice etc…

**Chapter 20 Disappear**

**(Normal PoV)**

He was not nervous. Not that he had a reason to be either. He was just… restless, fidgety. Okay maybe he was the least bit worried if you could even call it that.

The ticking of his wristwatch, the only company in the unbearable silence, reminded him vaguely of that time at Mikan's. He briefly considered the idea of throwing it to the floor and stomping on it but thought better of it after realizing he did not want her antics to rub off on him. Not that that would stop him from tapping his finger with every single tick.

It was three hundred and thirty-five ticks later, he counted (though he wasn't sure how much time that was, not that he cared), that the silence was finally replaced by a telltale click followed by a long screech and a very soft clank. At least she was not angry, she had not slammed the classroom door shut. That was a good sign, or so he hoped.

Natsume turned around as soon as silence settled back in the empty corridors and examined the motionless Mikan in front of him. He wanted to speak but his body was not heeding his command, so he kept waiting for her to say something first.

She did not flinch under his gaze or probably did not notice it. She just kept staring stupidly at the icky green wall in front of her; her eyes slightly wider than usual and her lips separated by an inch. She stared at it as if the meaning of life were written on that cabbage-colored wall and would disappear if she dared to look away. He found it extremely amusing that **his**antics were rubbing off on **her**.

"So…" he finally managed to blurt out with much effort.

Mikan perked up surprised that there was someone else there with her. When she recognized the intruder as Natsume she smiled and it was as if she was suddenly set into motion. She started running up to him excitedly and proceeded to tackle him to the ground forcing him to land rather painfully on his back (not that he would ever admit it hurt in the slightest.)

"Seventy-two, in your face Jin-Jin!" she shouted proudly showing him the paper scribbled with multiple formulas and a big red seventy-two on the top left corner.

"Just seventy-two? After all I had to go through you should have gotten a hundred." He teased smirking.

"Shut up!" she said smacking him on the head "I had to go through it all too! I deserve a reward for my hard work."

"You passed, isn't that reward enough?"

"No."

He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment "I suppose…" he added tucking a strand of stray hair behind her ear "…that could be arranged." He slowly inched his face forward.

"Well if it isn't everyone's favorite lovebirds!" someone called from behind them. "I believe there's a rule for '_improper behavior inside the school premises'_"

In a heartbeat both Natsume and Mikan were standing up and facing Tsubasa.

"But what do I know…" he chuckled as he walked up to them.

"It's not- we weren't- It's not what you think." Mikan explained trying to look convincing and failing miserably at it.

"Oh really? I thought that you'd accidentally tripped and fell over him and were just trying to stand up… But if it's not that then…" he glanced sideways at Natsume with a small smirk playing at his lips. "It's always the quiet ones." He commented casually.

"TSUBASA!" A girl's shriek echoed through the empty hallways "I TOLD YOU TO FETCH THE MATERIALS FOR THE SCHOOL FESTIVAL FROM THE STOREROOM NOT TO GOOF AROUND!" Misaki slapped her classmate over the head.

At that instant Tsubasa didn't know if he should be more scared of the girl trying to bite his head off or the boy attempting to burn a hole through his skull.

"Oh, hey Mikan-chan." She smiled at the younger girl. "I'm taking this one." She added pointing at Tsubasa.

Mikan shrugged "Go ahead."

"Let's go!" she pinched his ear and dragged him down the hall like a three year-old.

"Misaki let go of my ear! I'm gonna kill you! Let the fu- OUCH! Damn it, stop pulling! I'm an adult and I demand to be treated like one!"

"You will be when you stop being an irresponsible brat."

"You are the one being a brat! Now let the fu- OU! I said stop pulling!"

"That's no way of talking in front of a lady."

"LADY MY A-OUCH! DAMN YOU MISAKI YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!" The screams died out after that.

"Scary girl…" Natsume observed as they started down the corridor.

"That was nothing." Mikan giggled.

"Nothing compared to you."

"What's that supposed to-?" she looked at his astonished face puzzled, following his distant gaze to a couple of freshman kids walking their way. She found nothing particularly interesting about them, just two normal kids chatting and laughing and- "Oh"

Natsume stared dumbfounded at them. Aoi and Youichi didn't seem to have noticed them yet and continued walking and talking. But that was just it! Since when did Youichi speak so lively? (In Natsume's opinion lively when referring to Youichi meant moving his mouth and uttering more than one syllable)

More importantly, since when did Aoi talk to Youichi, (quote) "_Mr. I'm-too-good-to-talk-to-you"_ (end of quote)?

"Yeah, '_Oh'_ is quite right." he mumbled.

"Ah Onii-chan, Mikan-chan!" Aoi finally noticed their presence and approached them.

"You-chan, Aoi-chan?" Mikan tried to sound as unsurprised by this strange situation as possible.

"We were on our way to lunch. Youichi-kun said there was a nice place on the rooftop where nobody goes…" if somebody had been paying attention to Natsume at that moment they would have noticed the slight twitch on his right eye.

"D- Did he now?" Mikan tried to fill the uncomfortable silence as she caught a glimpse of the stare down match taking place between the two boys and suddenly felt the need to run away. So did Aoi.

"We- well, we better get going." The younger girl said smiling nervously. "We'll see you later Onii-chan, Mikan-chan."

Youichi nodded at Mikan acknowledging her existence and walked slowly past Natsume. "_Later Onii-chan_**(*)"** He whispered smirking.

"_It's always the quiet ones…"_ Tsubasa's words replayed in his head as he finally caught the full meaning of that simple word the brat had said.

"Wait Aoi! Youichi you little pervert kid! Come back here!" he called running after the duo leaving a shocked Mikan behind.

'_What was that about?'_ she thought confused.

"Well if it isn't the little thief." An all too familiar voice interrupted her musing.

"Well if it isn't the psychotic hag." Mikan retorted without turning around to look at Luna. "What do you want?"

"Oh, nothing much, just popped by to say hello. Why should I have ulterior motives to talk to the woman who is trying to steal my fiancée?"

"Whatever you say…" she shrugged and started walking off.

"Actually you are coming with me."

"As if"

"It was not a question."

Mikan could not really tell what happened after that, but before she could even blink she was shoved into a small dark room. The sound of a door locking behind her was the last thing she heard before something hit the back of her head and she passed out.

When she came to, she didn't know when, where or what the hell was going on. The only thing that was pretty clear was that her head hurt, a lot. She considered screaming and panicking but found herself too tired to do so. The only thing she was glad of was that it was dark, which was not technically good, but certainly helped with the headache.

As she started slowly accustoming herself to the environment she realized some very important things. First, she was not tied or bound by any means, which was a pretty good sign that she wasn't being held captive, probably.

The second thing she noticed was the thin line of daylight (or so she guessed) that filtered into the room from behind a thick curtain allowing her to make out the shape of most of the stuff in the room.

She was inside some sort of office. She could see an immense bookshelf opposite of the window and a desk with a rather striking spinning armchair behind it right in front of her. She felt around with her hands and figured that she was lying on what she could only suppose was a long soft couch, and a very comfortable one at that.

She mentally ran through all the information in her mind and tried to figure why this place seemed so familiar. She had been here before, she just knew it, but when?

'_Maybe it's just my imagination'_ she sat up '_because this looks just like the office of the bad guy in a very clichéd action movie.'_ Chuckling she attempted to stand up '_The only thing missing is the fireplace behind the desk…'_

She slowly made her way to the armchair careful not to bump into anything. Placing a hand on the desk to steady herself she reached the chair and sat down. Already a little more relaxed she whirled around a couple of times only noticed the huge fireplace the second time around.

She smiled a little humored "_And suddenly the lights turned on and the bad guy burst in…"_ she muttered as if narrating the movie to the small human shaped carvings framing fireplace.

As if on cue the lights flickered on forcing her to shut her eyes. The door burst open and she heard footsteps coming her way. When she finally opened her eyes she focused her sight on the intruder.

"Great, speak of the devil…" she said staring straight into Satoshi's crimson eyes. '_So different from Natsume's…'_

"I see you are awake."

"Oh no, I'm asleep. I'm a sleepwalker…" she replied trying to sound as calm as possible. '_He is like a dog, he can smell fear.'_

"Smug are we?"

"At least I am."

"Your false confidence will do you no good here."

"Likewise"

Satoshi glared at her, Sakura Mikan, '_Yukihira's daughter'_ he reminded himself, was quite a character. She had Izumi's guts and Yuuka's resolve. Under different circumstances she would have made a strong ally, but Sakura Co. already belonged to him. As soon as Masao died that girl would be out on the streets. She was useless to him; there was nothing he could possibly gain from her.

The Koizumi Group however was unattainable, that fat bastard Shinichiro, Luna's father, was not about to hand over even one miserable stock, he knew very well he was one of Satoshi's last competitors in many markets, not counting Imai, but even attempting to start a conversation with that man was an impossible mission.

Marrying Natsume to the only heir to his empire was a chance fallen from heaven (or hell some might argue) he could not have asked for a better chance to rid himself of that stupid cockroach.

"I have allowed this foolish game of yours to extend for far too long."

Mikan kept her mouth shut analyzing his every movement.

"You see, so far I have been sending you friendly warnings. But should you choose to continue being a nuisance to me you will leave me no choice but to do something you will regret."

His face showed nothing but malice and an 'I'm-not-fucking-around' aura seemed to surround him. No, this man meant serious business. His expression gave away that he was not the much ado about nothing type. Mikan couldn't help but notice rather grimly that he had used the words "_something__**you**__will regret_"

"This will be the last warning." He said "What is it going to be girl?"

She couldn't find it in her to answer. Partly because of the fear this man somehow managed to inflict on her, but also she did not know what she should say. Maybe if she kept silent long enough everything would sort out by itself.

"What, no answer? No witty comeback? No begging for forgiveness?" he looked at her mildly amused "A very Yuuka-like reaction." He smirked as she suddenly looked up at the mere mention of that name. It seemed she knew something about her parents then. He could use that to his convenience.

"You- that name."

"What, Yuuka?" he seemed to be striking a chord every time he said it. "An old classmate of mine, Azumi Yuuka" The name rolled out of his mouth like one who spits back a canape into a napkin at a very fancy party trying to hide the look of repulsion. Mikan did not see his face though as she jolted up from the chair. She stared at the mahogany desk but it held no answers for her.

He knew her, he knew her mother. She did not know whether she should be happy or scared anymore, Satoshi however was ecstatic as a new plot easily formed in his head. He liked to consider this ability of his a gift.

"By the look on your face I suppose you know her. Although I do not know how, she's been locked up in an asylum for the past-."

"NO!" Mikan suddenly shouted "That's impossible! Azumi Yuuka is…" she hesitated for a moment "my mother is dead. She committed suicide fifteen years ago."

"Mother?" he asked faking surprise "You are Yukihira's daughter?" he purposefully widened his eyes and made an O with his mouth trying to imitate a fish as much as he could.

"Yukihira?" the name seemed so familiar to her. It felt like a distant dream.

'_Perfect'_ he thought '_Just perfect.'_ She didn't know about her father he could say whatever he wanted.

"You don't know your own father's name?"

"Fa- father?" she looked up at him with expecting eyes.

"Yukihira Izumi… he was Yuuka's fiancé's second cousin. At that time we all studied at Alice Gakuen but they disappeared one day and no one heard from them again." He didn't have to include the parts were he intervened.

Mikan felt something was odd about this. Why was he telling her this? Was any of it true? Could she trust this man's word when he had never said anything but lies? Her mind was spinning at a hundred miles per hour but she wanted to believe those words to be true. Her heart wanted them to be true.

"It was rumored that Yuuka was pregnant with Izumi's child. It seems the head of the Sakura family told her she had to marry his son before that baby was born and they would take him in as their own."

"Sakura, as in-?"

"Sakura Masao, the eldest son and heir to the family." He looked at her astonished face as she realized whom he was talking about. "But I guess she decided not to and eloped with Izumi."

"What happened to them then?"

He noticed the strange suspicious glint in her eyes, saying anymore would be too risky. "How should I know? I think he died in a car accident and she tried to kill herself after that but ended up in a mental institution."

"She's… alive?" It couldn't be, she couldn't be, Jii-chan had said she was…

"_Your mom Yuuka she told me to tell you that she didn't mean to-."_Now that she thought about it he never said she wasn't. Maybe at that time he had wanted to say she was alive, that she had to look for her. Maybe she was alive! She could meet her mom! She had wished to see her, to hear her voice even if it were for a millisecond, even though she knew it was impossible.

"I can find her for you" was all he had to say for her doubts and suspicions to banish.

He could find her! Her heart felt like it would burst of joy.

How many times had she dreamed of her mother kissing her forehead and murmuring a soft goodbye? How many times had she chased after that retreating figure knowing perfectly well that she would never reach it? And now she could extend her arm and almost feel the warmth radiating of her body.

"Of course, there's a price" he added as if it were a minor detail.

But she didn't care about the price; she would gladly give up her own life to see her mother at least once.

"Disappear from Natsume's life forever."

Her bliss went flying right out the window, or would have, had the window been open.

* * *

**A/N****:** I already have the end of this story half written so I want to take it slow so I can make everything add up in the end. Hope you liked this one.

**(*)** When Youichi says "Later Onii-chan" in case it was confusing, it is as if he were calling him older brother, or rather brother-in-law... hence Natsume's reaction, or overreaction.


	21. Uncovering the Truth

**A/N:** I'm not dead! And I didn't drop the story either. Sorry if I've been gone too long, I've kind of been neglecting many things. And just so you know, eating a person alive is not good for your body and also illegal in many countries… just saying…

Anyways here's a quick recap in case you forgot where we're standing in this story…

**Previously:**

Mikan is taken by force to meet with Natsume's father, Satoshi. He tries to convince her to give up on Natsume and leave well enough alone. Seeing how she doesn't seem too eager to comply, Satoshi develops a plan to get rid of her.

After learning that she doesn't know much about her real parents at all, he tells her about how her mother Yuuka is still alive although locked up in an asylum after attempting to commit suicide. He offers to find Mikan's mother on the condition that she promises to disappear from Natsume's life forever.

**Disclaimer: ** I don't own Gakuen Alice.

**Chapter 21 Uncovering the Truth**

Mikan stares listlessly at the ceiling of her room. "_Disappear from Natsume's life forever."_ She keeps remembering those words.

What was she supposed to do? What would Natsume say if she told him about this? Maybe she shouldn't tell him at all. Maybe she really should just disappear… big difference that would make.

The other problem was should she really trust this man? Hyuuga Satoshi was certainly not a man worthy of anyone's trust. There had to be a way to find out if he was lying or not, but the only other people in this world who could possibly know the truth were her grandfather and-

"-_Sakura Masao"_ she mutters under her breath.

That was it! If Azumi Yuuka was really alive then of course he should know. He was practically obsessed over her. If she could find out the truth she could decide what to do and then-.

-Then what?

If it turned out that her mother was in fact alive, what would she do? Give up Natsume and go find her with Satoshi's help? Maybe she could find her on her own or ask Natsume for help. In any case she had to tell him what was going on. She felt it was unfair of her to hide this from him.

'_You have to fool your allies before you can fool you enemies… Besides I knew you'd try to stop me if I told you.' _ She clearly remembered how desperate she had felt before he had said those words. She didn't want to make him go through the same.

'_We'll figure out a way together'_ she convinces herself. '_It'll be fine'_

Suddenly she hears a knock at the door and perks up. "Come in" she says.

Slowly the door opens and Natsume walks cautiously into the room as if he felt it was wrong for him to be there. "Hey" he says venturing in a little further.

Mikan stares at him debating whether to flat out tell him about the deal with his father or opt for small talk for a while.

"Where did you disappear to today? Everyone was worried" he says.

"Nowhere, I just-." Mikan sighs profusely. "Actually" she pauses to think of the right choice of words. "I met with your father."

Natsume's eyes widen. "What do you mean 'met'? You went to see him!?" he breathes deeply to keep calm.

"No!" she defends "I was knocked out and when I came to I was in his office."

Mikan slowly explains the whole situation to him word by word, threat by threat.

"He told me to think about it overnight and also not to say a word to you…" she looks at him desperately trying to find some sort of comfort "but I didn't know what else to do."

"Do you think he's telling the truth?"

"I- I don't know" she admits helplessly hiding her face behind the palms of her hands.

"Well there are two ways to find out. Either asking your stepfather" he pauses and smirks "or my personal favorite…"

Mikan stares at his smug grin puzzled.

"James Bond style"

* * *

"_We're so gonna get caught for this."_

"_We will if you don't keep quiet."_

"_It's not like he would actually have any kind of evidence in here"_

"_You can't know that." _Natsume whispers while slowly peeping through the keyhole to see if no one is around.

"_It was over 15 years ago."_

"_Yes, and he is supposedly obsessed with this woman." _He turns the doorknob and quietly opens to peer inside. "_Sure this is it?" _

"_No. I haven't been here in years; I don't remember where his study is."_

"_Some help you are." _He mumbles.

"Well excuse me for-!"

"_SHH! Keep it down." _He quickly grabs her hand and drags her into the room closing the door behind them. "_If we get caught then it's game over." _

"_Fine, sorry. Jeez, you really should cut down on those video games…" _

"_Okay, we are looking for a safe or a hidden compartment or anything that looks suspicious."_

"_Right" _She says rolling her eyes as they both set to work.

After a considerable amount of rummaging through drawers, searching behind portraits and paintings, pulling books and looking for hidden switches Mikan begins to doubt there really is anything to find.

"_This is useless" _she says putting back yet another book in its place.

"_No it's not. Bad guys always keep incriminating evidence, it's what they do." _Natsume explains with an air of greatness about him while gently knocking on the walls to find a hollow spot.

"_This is not a crappy Hollywood action movie!" _

"_You are right. This is so much better than that." _He kneels down moves the rug and looks at the floor interestedly "_You just have to know where to look."_

Mikan can practically hear the victorious grin in his voice as she kneels down beside him to see what he found. "_A trap door, really? That's way too obvious to be true." _

"_Indeed_… _then again the most obvious answer is usually the correct one." _Natsume says in high tones.

"_Stop playing famous detective and open it already." _She orders impatient.

"_Fine…" _he carefully grabs one of the sides and slowly pries it open while mumbling "_Girls_ a_lways have to take the fun away from everything..."_

Mikan gasps when she sees what's hidden behind the door.

"_This is so predictable it's almost boring…" _he comments.

"_I told you to stop playing famous detective, this is serious!" _she sticks her hands into the empty hole on the ground and feels around.

Natsume sighs "_I was at least expecting some sort of challenge that's all..._"

"_You didn't find anything so don't brag like you did" _she stands up "_Let's go before someone finds us."_

"_It's not so much to ask is it?" _he stands up and walks to the desk rummaging through the drawers "_I mean maybe not a 'Carmen San Diego' type of challenge but…" _

"_**Kazume**__ what are you doing? We already looked there, let's go."_

"…_at least 'Blue's Clues' would have been - Aha!" _Taking out a cutter from the drawer he proceeds to kneel in front of the open trap door.

"_You are not even listening are you?" _Mikan peeps over his shoulder to see what he is up to "_What are you doing?"_

"_Elementary, my dear Watson"_ He smirks triumphantly slipping back into famous detective character_ "The moment I set eye on this trap door I deducted that-."_

"_Cut it out." _She deadpans.

Natsume huffs and slides the razor down the side of the hole. With one swift movement he lifts what seemed to be the bottom of the hole revealing it to be a simple wooden plank placed conveniently tomake it look like it was empty.

"_There_" he puts the cutter back in the drawer and stares at the gaping Mikan with a face normal people save only for extremely annoying old relatives who do not seem to understand the words '**I'm 18… not 8 grandma…**'

"_Ha- how did you-?" _Mikan peers into the hole and finds herself facing a safe the size of a pizza box. "_Great, now what?" _ She looks expectantly at Natsume who simply shrugs "_We need the password, any brilliant ideas?"_

Natsume once again shrugs in response and props himself on the ground next to the safe looking like a child who has just been caught trying to steal the cookies before dinner and was scolded by his mother.

She looks at him and sighs in defeat "_Fine I'll let you play detective all you want…"_

His face brightens up and the smirk finds its way back to his lips. "_Well, normally people use birthdays or important dates to remember this sort of thing." _

"_Hmm his birthday… I think it's February 23__rd__" _

"_What year?" _

"_I don't know… 1960-ish, what does it matter?"_

"_Usually this type of safe has 6 digit passwords" _he presses the keys from 1 to 6 to demonstrate. "_Day, month and year…" _he presses the Enter key to clear the previous input and suddenly looks up at Mikan after hearing a clicking sound. "_I did that totally on purpose." _

"_You can't be serious" _she grabs the small handle and turns it as if fearing it might detonate. "_What kind of moron sets the password to be 123456?"_ she says opening the safe.

"_The most obvious answer is usually the correct one and the last one anyone will try. Besides it's the default combination." _

Once the safe is finally open Mikan takes a box labeled 'YIaAY' from inside it. "_Let's take this and get out of here before someone finds us…"_

_

* * *

_

"Hmm… This is interesting; it seems that even though he was technically a criminal he had popular support because the money was sent to charity or people in need…" Natsume comments as he flicks through the pages of a scrapbook of old newspapers.

"YIaAY…" Mikan ponders aloud "AY, Azumi Yuuka" she mutters "YI…"

"Yukihira Izumi" Natsume says reading another article under the headline **'Infamous YIaAY death-sentenced by the police'** "The bank hacker was shot to death by a police officer who claims he saw the suspect holding a gun." He reads out loud.

Turning the page he begins reading the middle of an article"It is presumed that Azumi Yuuka shot herself. The police are still undergoing more thorough investigation." He reads.

He keeps flicking through the pages and stops once in a while to read. "Well, we went through all that trouble for nothing." He says "In the end we didn't find anything… I suppose we should put this box back." He sighs and closes the book "Pity about those two though, they seemed pretty cool people."

He starts putting some things back into the box "I wonder why he has a scrapbook of them though. Maybe he killed them and then- Mikan?" he turns to her and immediately shuts his mouth when he sees tears flowing freely from her eyes.

'_Crap, I'm such an idiot.'_ he mentally scolds himself as the dots connect in his mind.

"Yukihira Izumi and Azumi Yuuka are…" she speaks calmly as if her brain had not realized tears were flowing down her face "…_were_ my parents."

* * *

Sakura Masao was at the verge of a panic attack. The impossible had happened. His past had been buried up. Someone had invaded the memories he had sealed away long ago. That door was not supposed to be opened by anyone before he was safely away from earthly punishment. He would have enough of that in the underworld; he did not want to add the remaining of his life in jail to it.

He could still clearly recall the exact words he had written on that journal. He could repeat by heart every single word on that notebook.

"_If you are reading this then that hopefully means I am no longer in this world. Leaving this journal behind is my only way of making sure that the truth does not disappear forever. The weight of the deaths of those two lies in no one's shoulders but my own. I was too cowardly to voice it, fearing the penalty for my actions; but now, in desperate craving for redemption I write these words to anyone who will read them and make the truth known. I owe her that much._

_Sakura Masao" _

The confession he had prepared for his deathbed had been found, and now for the first time in years Masao was truly afraid.

* * *

"_If even one person can remember it, then it is real._

_But how do you know it was real if you are the only one who can remember it?_

_How can you be certain it was not merely a fleeting dream, taunting you, indulging you with a bittersweet taste of __accomplishment __only to banish as if it had never been there at all? Leaving behind nothing but the faint ghost of a memory that you can never be truly sure should be there to begin with._

_How do you continue living when you already know that there is no going back to Eden after tasting the Forbidden Fruit? How do you manage to move on when you already understand there is no taking back what you have done, and you can only wait for the moment in which your sins shall be forgiven?_

_But how can you ever be forgiven when every time you close your eyes you can see her face? Eyes brilliant, filled with innocent trust. How can you possibly hope for forgiveness when you do not feel worthy of it yourself? When simply imagining her, pure and untainted, fills your soul with self-loathe._

_You try to forget. You pretend it never happened. You wish it into becoming a nightmare and convince yourself it never took place. You discard it as a twisted desire that will remain unfulfilled for eternity. If you can erase it, then you can make it disappear forever, you can even rewrite history._

_If no one can remember it, then it is not real._

_If I cannot remember it, then it is not real."_

Natsume slowly reads what is written on the yellowed pages of the diary. He had hidden it from Mikan, he knew it was her right to be the one to read it first, but he did not think she could bear any more.

For now he would let her live with the truth that she had been fed until now. He knew eventually he would have to tell her what the truth behind the truth was, but first he needed to find out what that was.

Some of the things he read about he knew, but most of it he did not. The story was long and complicated. Family ties, friendship, love, hate, money, social status, power… Sadly, some of it he could relate to, and the more he read on the more he realized that, save for some of the details such as genders and blood relations, this might as well be the story of his life all written down for him.

He read about Masao's engagement to Yuuka, about how he loved her, and from Masao's words he could gather it was quite a lot. He read about Izumi, his second cousin, and somehow he knew exactly where this was going. But he was completely shocked as he read the line

"_The man behind the strings of the puppet show, the one who played us all without our realizing, the puppeteer, Hyuuga Satoshi, we did nothing but dance on the palm of his hand, and we didn't even know. "_

Natsume reread the same line over and over again in astonishment. What the hell did that mean? He kept reading, anxious to understand. The bullying, the threats, the hospital, the elopement, he memorized it all, not wanting to forget a single syllable.

It was at the moment he reached the point when his father found the whereabouts of Yuuka and Izumi and informed Masao about it that he had to stop. He had heard and seen much treacherous things his father had done, but knowing the end of this story he could not help but expect the worst.

Masao's handwriting at this point was shaky and difficult to read, some of the words were smeared under drops of what he could only guess were tears or sweat or both. Somehow he could feel the man's distress as he wrote them; and it was clear by the way he worded each sentence that Satoshi wanted that family dead, and was intending to have Masao do the job.

Soon enough he reaches the end of the tale, his chest felt tight and it was hard to breathe, the weight of the whole thing was far too heavy for him. The phrase "you can't handle the truth" seemed clearer than ever.

"_It is the sin I will have to carry with me for the rest of my existence. My only wish after this is all over is that that wretched Hyuuga gets what is coming to him. Watching his remorseless face sickens me. Even in death I shall curse him from hell, may he never rest in peace as I will."_

Turning to the last page of the notebook, Natsume notices the last part is written in a different type of ink and apparently much later than the rest of the entries. "_I'm sorry" _it started; he knew this meant he should stop reading, but he could not help himself from continuing.

"_After convincing myself I had forgotten all about the past, you come waltzing into my life like a some sort of sick joke sent from those two to torment me. Your face looks exactly like _hers_ but you have _his_ eyes. Your presence serves only to remind me of my dreadful deeds. Seeing you fills me with rage and hatred I thought I had thrown away years ago, but I cannot act on it. I must not repeat the same mistakes from the past._

_Which is why I apologize to you, even if I could not do it whilst alive, know that I truly regret everything I have done to you and your _**parents**_._

_I know this will not make up for anything or even make my wrong doings right but there is nothing I would want more in this world than to welcome you into my arms and hold you as my true child. _

_But I am unable to face you, I'm afraid I might do something we shall both regret. This is why I have kept you away from me, in order to protect you. I understand if you do not believe me, for I have done nothing but deceive you_

_I will not ask for your forgiveness, for even I cannot forgive myself and I will understand your loathing me after finding out what I have done. _

_Live well my daughter"_

The book drops from Natsume's hand as soon as he finishes reading, his mind spinning at thousand miles per minute. Did he hate her? Love her? What the hell did he mean "something we shall both regret"? Did he have thoughts about killing her and he kept her away to prevent himself from doing so? And did that make him a good guy or a bad guy?

'_Maybe the world is not as black and white as that.' _He thinks while picking up the book and putting it back in the box. '_In any case Mikan has to know about this…'_

But first he needed to make sure of a couple of things, and there was only one way to know, so after hiding the box in a safe place, he headed out.

* * *

Masao kept pacing around the study, he could not tell Satoshi about this. He would have him killed and the book destroyed if he knew he had written a full confession implying him in it. Had one of the servants taken it? How had they found it? No, it had to be someone who knew exactly what he was looking for, and Masao was the only one who knew about that box. There was no reason for anyone to come looking for it. He would remember having moved it so-.

"It's not here anymore" Natsume's voice cuts his reverie short. "I hid it elsewhere, but I'm not planning to do anything with it… yet."

Masao quickly turns to stare at the boy waiting for him to continue.

"Of course you know who I am and what I'm doing here. My father has been keeping you up to date, yes?"

The older man nods and takes a seat behind his desk motioning the boy to follow.

"I do not intend to blackmail you; I came here looking for answers and nothing more."

"You already have your answers do you not? You have read the notebook, no?"

"Yes, which is why I want answers from you…" Natsume looks at the man noticing the surprise in his expression "My father is unaware of the existence of this little book, even I realized as much, besides I know that even if I asked him he would lie or simply refuse to answer."

Masao nods once again "Indeed that sounds like Satoshi."

"You however do not have that privilege. You are pretty much screwed, so you might as well humor me."

"Fair enough, ask then." Masao replies amusedly.

"Was it you who killed Mikan's parents?"

"Yes"

"Was it you who decided to do it?"

"No"

"Did you really want to kill them?"

"Hmm, why do you keep asking questions you already know the answer to? Or are you simply testing to see whether I'm lying?"

"You didn't answer the question." Natsume states boldly.

"Ah, no sidetracking you then?" Masao chuckles lightly "Indeed you are Satoshi's son…"

Natsume simply stares at the man awaiting his response.

"I did not want to kill _her." _He finally answers.

"But you wanted to kill him? Wasn't he your cousin, not to mention your best friend?"

"HA!" Masao snorts loudly "_Best friend?_" he asks sneering "That traitor was no _friend_ of mine."

"So you don't regret having killed him?" Natsume inquires more than a little taken aback.

Masao looks at him with sorrowful yet hateful eyes "How could I regret killing the man who crushed my every happiness in life?"

"Still, he didn't deserve to die!" Natsume retorts getting more and more exasperated by the second. "You mean to say his crime was falling in love?"

"As expected, you are still a child. You understand nothing. Do you really know what kind of man Izumi was? Do you have any idea how many lives were ruined because of him? Do you?"

The young boy did not know what to say and Masao took this as his cue to continue.

"You read the articles didn't you? Izumi was a bank hacker, a thief. He stole money from people. Many enterprises went bankrupt because of his childish ideals and his wrong sense of self-righteousness." Masao takes a black scrapbook from one of the desk drawers and hands it to Natsume.

Flicking through the pages he reads some of the headlines, shocked to see that most of them talked about entrepreneurs who had committed suicide after going bankrupt or thousands of people losing their jobs after their workplaces had shut down because of YIaAY's intervention.

"Not the fairy tale you expected eh? Real life doesn't work like that." Masao takes the book back "Granted, a small handful of people were happy for a while, until the money they got run out. You can give a man fish and he'll eat for a day… and then what?"

Natsume thought about this, he had never considered it this way. But then, Mikan's dad was the bad guy? Or was it his father? Was what Masao had done all that wrong?

"Do I regret what happened that night? Yes, if I could go back I would have done things different, if only for Yuuka. But do I regret Izumi's death? No, not one bit. If anything his death brought a little peace of mind to practically the whole world."

Natsume was stunned beyond words, he could not argue with that. If the police had caught him, he would have probably been sentenced to death or at least life imprisonment. And in any case what he had done was starting to look less and less like the good guy to him by the minute.

"There are no good or bad people you know…" Masao suddenly stands up and stares out the window behind him.

"Right and wrong, like beauty, is in the eyes of the beholder. There are however right reasons or wrong reasons… In my case, much like Satoshi's, the reason was vengeance, nothing more. I'm not saying it was the right reason, but at least we were honest about it.

As for Izumi, his reason was also vengeance, against us, against anyone with the money and power he could never get because of his lineage, but he disguised it as charity… Yuuka was the only one of us who had a right reason, much to my woe, what she did she did for love, and that is as right a reason as it gets."

He turns around and looks at Natsume "Even if everyone else thinks what you are doing is wrong, if you know your reasons are right and your resolve never wavers, someday you might make them realize that maybe you are not the one in the wrong. But if you don't believe it yourself, you can't possibly convince anyone else about it. Izumi of course was never sure about his reasons, which is why no one was certain if they could trust him."

Masao sighs deeply and sits back down "But alas, I don't expect a kid like you to understand… We have digressed enough yes? I take it you have no more questions then?"

Natsume's brain suddenly clicks and he is set back into motion "No! I mean yes, I have more questions." He says "Do you… intend to… _harm_ Mikan?" he asks uncertainly.

Masao's eyes widen at the utter randomness of the question "What? _Harm_ Mikan? Do you mean do I want to kill her? Of course not, but I'm not confident in my self-control, if that's what you mean."

"Is that really why you push her away, to prevent yourself from putting her in danger?"

"Well partly yes. Also, I don't want her to find out about the truth behind her parents deaths. Ever since she came here I was always afraid of what might happen if I allowed her to get close to me and she found out…" The sorrow in Masao's eyes was clear as he talked about Mikan. "I do not wish her to become… _like me."_

"Don't you think she deserves to know the truth?"

"Do you?" he replies immediately "What do you think will happen to her once she knows? And what do you think that means to you, eh?" he looks right into Natsume's eyes "Are you confident that she won't see her parents murderer's face every time she looks at you in the eyes?"

Natsume's eyes widen, suddenly telling Mikan the truth somehow did not seem like such a great idea.

"That is what I feel like every day kid, even when she doesn't know. Will you be able to handle it I wonder…?"

* * *

**A/N:** I thought that throughout the WHOLE story, Masao got NO character development whatsoever, he barely even got mentioned, so there you have it.

I thought he deserved a little screen time, 'cause he's a poor misunderstood fellow. And actually from the beginning of the whole thing I pictured him like a sort of good/bad guy…

I'll try my best not take so long this time! I deeply apologize for this. Love to all of you who keep reading and I hope I'm not disappointing you guys!


	22. The Strongest Feeling

**A/N:** See I told you I could do it if I tried! Kind of…

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gakuen Alice etc…

**Chapter 22 The Strongest Feeling**

_It was a warm feeling…_

_Like lying under the sunlight on a spring morning that was the only way she could describe it. She could smell the scent of flowers everywhere and nowhere at the same time. The faint sound of a familiar voice behind her made her open her eyes. Although she could not make out his face, she still recognized the man behind her. Slowly rising from the ground she turned to him and watched him smile at her._

"_I'm sorry I didn't mean to startle you…" he said kindly._

_She could do nothing but stare dumbfounded at him. "Yu- Yukihira Izumi?" She asked uncertainly, her voice not higher than a whisper._

"_Oh? That's a bit cold don't you think? And here I thought I'd finally get to hear you call me dad…" he replied looking at her with fond eyes._

_He walked up to her and patted her on the head "Look at you all lovely and grown up" he had muttered and that was all it took. When he wrapped his arms around her and smoothed her hair gently, she knew this was nothing but a dream, but she did not care. As she cried on his shoulder she could feel his heartbeat, even though she knew it was not real._

_It was a warm feeling and she could smell flowers everywhere and nowhere at the same time. A father's hug, she realized, could not be compared to anything she had felt before, and she wondered what a mother's hug would feel like._

**Mikan -**_ A voice echoed throughout the meadow of her dreams._

"_Seems like our time is up kiddo…" her father said trying to untangle himself from her grasp, but she would not let go._

"_NO!" she yelled "Just for a little while longer… Don't take it away"_

_Her father smiled down at her as everything around them started shaking and came crushing into the ground._

"_You have to learn to let go and move on…" he chuckled softly and finally released her, keeping her at arms distance._

"_Will I see you again?" _

**Mikan? - **_The voice called again, louder. _

"_And what about mom will I see her?" she asked desperately with the last seconds she had left._

"_I don't see why not..." He replied smiling fondly at her "Goodbye my little Mikan…" he whispered before turning around and walking away, becoming nothing but a fleeting memory once again._

"_DAD DON'T GO! DON'T LEAVE ME ALL ALONE!" she screamed at his retreating back, extending her arms to reach him, feeling his warmth close, but not close enough._

"_Not alone…" rather than hearing his voice she could feel it all around her, echoing in the darkness._

_

* * *

_

"Mikan!?"

She woke up to Natsume shaking her frantically by her shoulders and calling her name.

"What's going on?" she asks a little disoriented after waking up "Did something happen?"

"That's what I'd like to ask!" he says releasing her from his grip and sitting on the bed next to her. "You were crying and yelling in your sleep…"

"I- I was?" she reaches a hand to her face and is surprise to find tears still flowing from her eyes. "I didn't realize…"

"Were you having a nightmare perhaps?" he asks concerned.

"I don't know…" she admits wiping the tears away "I was in a meadow of sorts and…" her voice trails off as if she were trying to remember something from the distant past. "A man… there was a man- It was…"

"Your father?" he provides "You were screaming 'dad' before you woke up…"

"_Not alone_…" she mutters under her breath.

Natsume stares at her quizzically not understanding the meaning of her words.

"I think my mom's alive." She finally explains. "I think that's what he was trying to tell me! Not alone means I still have her!" she says excitedly smiling for the first time in a long time.

"Mikan I don't think-." He suddenly kept silent for a reason Mikan could not understand.

* * *

"_You will have to carry your father's sins as your own for as long as you live. That's the true curse of those crimson eyes, didn't you know?" Masao had looked at him expecting a reaction that never came_

_Natsume simply stared, he did not believe in curses, he never had. He had been told legends of how the Hyuuga had come to have red eyes but he never thought much of them._

"_Not to mention you look exactly like Satoshi, anyone who knows your father automatically associates you with him." Masao waved a hand in front of his face as if to make a point out of his words "Like father like son they say…" _

"_I AM NOTHING LIKE MY FATHER!" he said slamming his fists on the desk in front of him._

"_Are you sure about that?" he replied calmly unmoved by the young boy's outburst "Can you truly look back and say that everything you have done isn't exactly what your father would have?" _

"_It's not the same thing! I would never even consider hurting anyone-!" _

"_Is that what you truly believe? That you are free of guilt because you wouldn't consider hurting?" Masao snorted at his own question "You are __**worse**__ than your father then… At least he __**knows **__those whom he hurts to achieve his goals. You on the other hand simply don't __**consider**__ them."_

"_I have never and would never hurt another person!" Natsume retorted angrily._

"_Is that so? What about your family? What about Koizumi Luna? Do you think you have not hurt her? She loves you and you have treated her like a nuisance, an enemy if you wish." _

"_She doesn't love me! She's just running around trying to ruin my-."_

"_Happiness?" Masao finished for him after a moment of silence "You are like your father in that at least, selfish and Machiavellian."_

"_I'm not-."_

"_Can you truly deny it with while keeping a straight face, kid?" Masao cut him off abruptly "Have you not deceived, hurt and used others in order to achieve your goals?"_

_Natsume looked down as the man's word sank in. __**Deceived**__ his own father; __**hurt**__ his fiancée; __**used**__ those he had grown accustomed to call friends. _

"_You are too blinded by your self-righteousness to realize that all of your actions have consequences." Masao tapped his index finger on the desk to a random beat "Your reason is wrong and thus you keep hurting others without even considering it. And because of that ultimately you will hurt that which you treasure most."_

"_Why are you telling me this? Wouldn't it be better for you guys if I did end up hurting Mikan?"_

"_Well, history goes in cycles… so if we let this continue on as it is it would ultimately mean yours and her death." Masao looked at him thoughtfully "I don't know about you but I'd rather stop this before it comes to that."_

"_Why aren't you doing anything then? There are a million things you can do without involving me or Mikan any further!" _

"_Ha, always the selfish one I see. Are you appealing to my guilty side now?" Masao stared at Natsume with a somber expression "If push comes to shove I will protect her from the background. If there's anyone you should be begging help from that should be Satoshi, not me. To me you are just the kid who is jeopardizing everything I've worked for the past ten years. Why should I want to help you?"_

"_If you confessed… if you told the truth we could stop my father! We could all be free from-."_

"_You mean you could be free. If I came clean, in the best case scenario Satoshi would kill me; in the worst case I'd get life imprisonment. So much for freedom…"_

"_But you could stop her from being in danger and-."_

"_Stop pretending you're doing it for her. If you want to save your own hide do it for yourself. Stop trying to take advantage of other people's pity; be a man, not a kid. Maybe then you'll be able to protect her." _

"_I'm not a child! If I have to I'll show that journal to the world and-!"_

"_Go ahead then!" Masao challenged standing up abruptly "Tell them, tell __**her**__. See if she'll ever look at you with the same eyes!"_

"_She would!" Natsume shouted mimicking his movements "She knows I'm not my father! She understands we are completely different! Whatever he's done has nothing to do with me and she knows that!"_

"_Who are you trying to convince, me or you?" _

_

* * *

_

"Are you okay?" Mikan asks waving a hand in front of Natsume's face "You suddenly froze…"

"Huh?" he gasps blinking in surprise "Did I?"

"What were you going to say? You don't think what?"

"Um, I…" he rubs his hands together in thought "I- I forgot." He finally answers stupidly.

"You forgot?" she asks suspiciously.

"Yeah, wasn't that important probably…" he looks at her with an unreadable expression "Can I ask you a question?"

"You kind of already did, but go ahead." She replies slightly concerned.

"Would you-? Do you think-? If someone- ugh…" he groans in exasperation not being able to find the right words.

"What's gotten into you? Since when did you turn into a backboneless, speech impaired mess of nerves?"

"Harsh… deserved, but harsh." Natsume sighed, she had to know the truth, he knew. Masao was right, all this time he was just being selfish. He wouldn't go as far to say he was like his father, but maybe a little…

"Look" he starts "what I want to know is…"

'_No… it doesn't matter, this is not about me it's about her.'_ He thinks shaking his head.

"Yes?" she pries impassively.

"What I want **you **to know is… the truth." He takes a deep breath and continues "It's the least I can do for you…"

* * *

Masao stares at the glowing monitor with the ghost of a smile on his face. History goes in cycles because people keep making the same mistakes; but every once in a while there comes along someone who makes the choice not to. Every once in a while the cycle can be broken by someone with a strong will and a good reason.

"All it takes is a little push in the right direction…" he says to no one before switching the monitor off and walking out of the surveillance room.

* * *

Natsume hands her the black notebook without looking at her face "I think you should read this before you decide anything."

Natsume slowly stands up and walks to the door. "If you need anything I'll be right outside, I'm not leaving you alone."

Mikan stares wide eyed at the closed door and then at the notebook on her lap. "You're kidding right?" she mumbles while slowly opening the journal, flipping through the pages and stopping at the last one, the different color of ink catching her attention.

"_I'm sorry" _it began, and with that she burst into tears.

* * *

A couple of hours later Natsume was sitting on the couch in front of the switched off TV, dreading the time she came out of her room. At least this was for the best, he thought, she would know the truth and be able to decide for herself what was right or wrong.

If Masao was right, if she could only see his father in him after this, the silver lining was that they would break up and Satoshi would at least leave **her **alone. Maybe she'd find happiness with Kaname after that… She still had her friends and everything would just go back to how it used to be before they met. It wasn't such a big deal; it wasn't like he was losing anything he had before.

It was at this moment that he finally understood Masao's feelings, the dread of not knowing whether or not she will ever look at you the same way. But Natsume was different; he wasn't going to live with the doubt.

The clicking of the door made him jump nonetheless and as Mikan walked slowly towards him, her eyes hidden behind a curtain of hair and her cheeks red and wet from tears, he felt his heart about to burst through his chest.

He couldn't find his voice; there were no words he could say right now that seemed appropriate. Nothing he could say would be enough, and anything he said might be too much so he settled for keeping his mouth shut and his eyes away from hers.

When Natsume was finally at arms range Mikan looked up at him and instantly threw herself into his arms surprising him and making them both collapse onto the floor. He noticed she was shaking and sobbing lowly.

"_She's dead._" She whispered between sobs.

Natsume did not reply, he patted her head in what he hoped was a comforting manner holding her tight with his other arm.

"_**He**__ killed them" _her voice trembled with rage "AND NOW HE DARES TO TELL ME SHE IS ALIVE!" her shout was accompanied by weak fists punching Natsume's chest in desperation.

Natsume knew right at that instant that the moment she looked at him she would only see her parents' murderer, just like Masao had said. Her hatred for Satoshi was the strongest feeling after all. In her mind even though Masao had been the one to pull the trigger his father was the one to pull Masao, he was the real murderer.

Still he needed to hear it from her; he needed to know if this was the end…

"Mikan?" he ventured sitting up slowly careful not to disturb her "I want you to do something for me"

She sobbed and nodded into his chest in response.

"Look at me" he said "I want you to look at me in the eyes"

* * *

Satoshi paced around the room. He was almost one hundred percent sure the girl had told Natsume about his offer. He was expecting him to burst through the door in any minute kicking and screaming demanding an explanation. Then he would just convince him it was for the best of everyone's interests and talk him into getting rid of her. After that all he needed to do was find a Yuuka lookalike, pay her to pretend to be her mother for a while and fake her death in some accident or so.

Everyone won.

The sooner Natsume showed up the sooner he could get this whole bothersome thing over with…

Now, where the hell was Natsume with his teenage-angst-tantrums when he needed him the most?

* * *

"_I'm sorry"_ was Mikan's answer "_I- I can't."_

Natsume's heart fell. She couldn't even bear to look at him anymore.

Gritting his teeth to suppress his urge to scream he stood up leaving her lying on the ground. Without turning to look at her he stomped to the front door and walked out.

* * *

**A/N:** It's shorter because I decided that that was a good cliffhanger, and because I realized shorter chapters mean faster updates, and because I'm mean.

See you on the next one.

(If any of you like 07-Ghost I started a new fic on that fandom… It's AyaTei because I like weird relationships like that. Anyways if you have time check it out or check out 07-Ghost the anime or manga that's also really good. )

_**To be continued…**_


	23. A Fresh New Beginning

**A/N:** Thanks for over 500 reviews. You are all lovely people and I love you guys very much =)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gakuen Alice.

**Chapter 23 A Fresh New Beginning **

Mikan sat on the floor thoroughly confused as she watched Natsume's retreating figure. Why was he angry? Why was he leaving? Why wasn't she standing up and chasing after him?

"_Wait…"_ she muttered staring at the doorher voice cracked and raspy. "_Don't go" _she stood up slowly grabbing the edge of the couch to steady herself.

"Don't leave me all alone_"_ she cried softly.

The next instant she was sprinting out the door as the real meaning of her dream dawned on her.

'_Not alone' _she thought running to catch up to him.

* * *

Natsume could not stop himself from looking back one last time. He knew that after everything that had happened leaving this way would be for the best; maybe not the one he preferred but still, with this it was all finally over.

He felt the weariness of the last few weeks as if it had been years. He sighed and looked around taking in every single sight and feeling, trying to memorize it all. If the future held nothing for him but a dull grey existence of watching his own life passing him by, at least he wanted to keep the memories of what it was like to hold the reins himself. Even though he knew time would manage to turn it into nothing but a distant dream it was worth something now. Or perhaps he was just attempting to stall the inevitable.

As he kept walking forward he vaguely thought he could hear footsteps behind him but chose to ignore it convinced it was just the wind. The faint sound of a voice calling his name in the distance caught his attention for a moment but he shrugged it off as his wishful mind playing tricks on him again.

**It's not me**. The little voice in his head prompted helpfully.

Natsume stopped, more than a bit surprised by the fact that he was talking to himself again. Still this did not give him much time to react when he heard Mikan's voice calling him once more and suddenly colliding with his back, locking him in a very awkward embrace.

**See? Told you it wasn't me. **The voice repeated. Natsume did not know which situation needed more urgent attention, Mikan or the voice inside his head.

**I can wait.** Natsume could swear that he actually saw his face smirking at him inside his head but tried to erase the thought not really wanting to admit he was going slightly insane, but just slightly.

"Please don't go" Mikan finally spoke after catching her breath.

He was completely confused. Hadn't she just said she couldn't bear to look at him? What on earth could she possibly be thinking to ask him to stay?

"If you go I-." her face burrowed against his back "I don't remember how to be alone anymore!"

It was a very odd thing for her to say, he thought, she had never had to be alone after all. He on the other hand had a long history of being by himself. Over the years it had become a normal thing for him. With time he had grown accustomed to the loneliness and the feeling of…

… Feeling of what again?

And suddenly it hit him… he didn't remember how to be alone either. Perhaps it had not been such an odd thing to say.

"How can I possibly stay by your side?" he asked hesitantly "When you can't even bear to look me in the eyes?"

"I can't" she replied immediately "I don't want to see-."

"To see your parents' murderer in me!" he snapped not bothering to keep his bottled up anger in anymore.

"NO!" she cried desperately clinging to his arm to keep him from running away. "What are you saying? I've never thought like that even for a second!"

"Then why won't you face me!" he swirled around and caught her shoulders. Mikan quickly lowered her head and stared at the ground making Natsume even more frustrated.

"I don't want to see the remorse in your eyes" she finally said in a soft voice taking him completely by surprise.

Mikan raised her head but kept her eyes closed still refusing to look into his eyes. She was not crying anymore but the dried tracks of shed tears were still visible on her cheeks.

"Why do _**you**_ have to be the one to feel sorry? Why do _**you**_ have to be the one to be regretful! It's not fair for you to carry _**his**_ guilt as your own! _**You**_ didn't do anything wrong!" she paused and took a deep breath to steady herself "I know it's also my fault that you feel like that. That's why I don't want to see it, because I should be the one apologizing."

"What are you talking about you idiot? Why would you have to apologize for anything? I'm the one who didn't trust you'd be able to tell me apart from him anymore."

"Yeah, but I never told you otherwise…" her voice trailed off and she opened her eyes to finally look into his "Because honestly when you told me the truth I didn't know either… whether I'd be able to tell you apart."

Natsume was completely taken aback by the straightforwardness of the statement. If anything he figured she would either lie about it or not mention it at all.

"But I realized something as I read through my uncle's diary. The only thing you and that man share is your last name."

'_Like father like son_' Masao's words echoed in his head.

"What if it's not like that?" he asked her seriously "What if I am more like him than I think? I haven't precisely been a model person lately."

"You are not-."

"How do you know! I've used people like tools and hurt my family to achieve my selfish goals! In what way does that differ from my father?" he pressed his palms firmly over his eyes "This is just proof that I'm exactly like him, a selfish, Machiavellian bastard."

Mikan held his hands and gently pulled them away from his face. "Like I was saying, you are not like that at all."

"How do you figure? For all I know I'm the spawn of Lucifer himself. What makes you think I'm not evil then?"

"Because evil doesn't wonder if what they did was wrong." She explains simply.

"Ho-?"

"Because it's written all over your face." She smiles gently at him "And before you ask, yes, I can read minds. Satisfied?"

"I wasn't gonna ask… I'd already figured." He answered feeling relieved. Those few words she had spoken were exactly what he needed to hear. Masao was wrong, no matter what other's thought or said about him, he was not like his father. "I'm sorry" he added later as an afterthought.

"For what?"

"For walking out on you at a time like this… you have enough going on right now to have to add me being a jerk."

"I'm glad actually. If you hadn't been here I would probably be brooding in the corner of my room." She admitted pitifully "So at least one good thing came out of this whole mess."

"I think we should head back… it's kind of cold out here" he said taking her hand and walking back as a stray snowflake landed on his hand. "Let's hope it piles up…" he commented as thousands of white lumps started covering the ground.

* * *

Mikan stood frozen in front of the dark wooden door. From time to time she would reach out for the handle but would stop abruptly halfway through. Around the fifth time this happened Natsume started growing impatient.

"Are you **sure** you want to do this?" he asked her.

"No- I mean yes! I'm one-hundred percent completely sure." Her shaky hesitant voice begged to differ.

"All right, open the door then, come on." He urged "If not I will."

"Maybe we should, you know, do it later…" she suggested nervously.

"Alright, that's IT." Natsume extended his hand and took hold of the handle but Mikan quickly grabbed his wrist before he could turn it.

"Wait! Can we talk about it first?"

"No."

"But it's too sudden, don't you think?"

"Look if you don't want to…"

"No, no. I do. I just I… I'm nervous."

"You're getting cold feet now?" Natsume looked at her and sighed "It'll be fine I promise."

Mikan took a deep breath and placed her hand over his.

"Okay… on the count of three." He said as he tightened his grip on the handle. "Three!" he called and without giving her time to think he pushed the door open and dragged her into the room.

Masao was shocked beyond words to see both teens stumbling into his study, literally. He stared at them with his mouth agape. They all stood in silence waiting for someone to start a conversation. Natsume, being the impatient type was the first one to yield.

"Nice weather isn't it?" he prompted stupidly.

Masao and Mikan nodded absentmindedly both staring at each other in horror.

"Maybe I should go?" he asked looking between the two but as he was about to walk out Mikan grabbed his hand, although her eyes never left her uncle's.

"I thought I would have a million things to say to you when this time came" she began hesitantly "I thought I would scream and cry that I hated you and that you ruined my life…"

Masao did not respond, he sat looking at her and accepting her every word, he knew he deserved that and much more. But he would not show surprise or hurt, for he was not entitled to feel either.

"Still I… now that I'm here and you're here I…" she paused and squeezed Natsume's hand to find some reassurance "I know that you are not a bad man, you just messed up and made some really shitty choices. So, what happened can't be changed and that's why I want to try and slowly make things right from now on."

"There is no righting the wrongs I have done!" Masao shouted in exasperation. Why? Why was he being given a second chance! He did not deserve kindness! He did not deserve forgiveness! Where was the punishment he had been expecting all these years? Why was he being allowed back into heaven! "There is no going back to Eden after tasting the Forbidden Fruit!" he screeched holding his head in his hands.

"No, there's not." Mikan replied softly "But the history of Men started **after** they were banished from Paradise. That's when they finally started living for themselves."

Masao and Natsume both stared at her in astonishment, for completely different reasons.

"Why?" the older Sakura asked "How can you show compassion to me? I have caused you nothing but pain and yet… how can you respond with forgiveness?"

"Don't misunderstand. I'm not forgiving you." She explained "Besides, forgiveness should come from you first..."

The faint ghost of a tiny smile graced Masao's face for an instant. "Really, you people are…" he muttered under his breath. Somehow he felt incredibly light; perhaps he had been wrong to search for forgiveness all these years.

"I probably won't ever be able to forgive you for what you did, but in order to move forward you need to let go of the past holding you back first."

Masao chuckled lightheartedly "Truly the most beautiful flower always blooms in adversity…" he commented glancing quickly at a very astounded looking Natsume. "Thank you" he continued turning back to her "You can't possibly imagine how much those words mean to me. I had no idea you were such an extraordinary girl…"

"Ditto" Natsume cut in staring at her impressed.

"So umm... I'm thinking we should start over from scratch and see how that goes." She suggested meekly. "If- if you want of course, since we didn't exactly start off with the right foot and all-."

"You… want to start over? You would willingly give **me **a second chance?"

"I read your diary." She confessed readily and without the tiniest hint of guilt "So I figured that we might as well correct some misunderstandings from the get go; you know, to prevent future _trouble, _I believe everything should be perfectly clear from the start."

Masao nodded in agreement.

"Right, so… I'm not entirely sure how to go about this." A long silence set in the room as Mikan thought of what to say next "So uh… maybe we should take a walk?"

* * *

Natsume stayed behind despite Mikan's insistence on him coming along. He thought this was really not something he should be meddling into. He assured her he would be watching her back all the time so that she would not be alone at all.

The house was in complete riot. Every maid and butler in the place had found a comfortable space in front of a window to stare at the most incredible event they had ever seen in the mansion. Gossip traveled fast and soon Natsume too was chattering with the servants while happily chomping on some snacks they had provided him.

On the other hand Mikan and Masao walked in awkward silence. Even though the hardest part was apparently over, neither knew what to say. This was a situation none of them would have ever imagined they would ever be in. Who would have said that it was harder to get along than to fight it out?

They both glanced to the side once in a while to check whether the other was staring. Perhaps small talk was the way to go in this situation…

"So-." they both started at the same time and immediately shut up as they realized the other was also speaking.

"You go" Mikan said after an uncomfortable pause wondering if it was alright to speak.

"No, no, ladies first..." Masao answered quickly.

Mikan sighed deeply "This isn't really working as I'd imagined…"

"Well I'd never imagined this could even happen."

"Unlikely things happen all the time…" she said.

"Million to one chances crop up nine out of ten times…" Masao commented.

"Good one." Mikan said smiling slightly.

"Yuuka used to say that al-." Masao stopped abruptly and looked away considering that maybe that subject was not entirely appropriate for the occasion. "I'm sorry" he muttered afterwards.

"It's okay. It's not gonna be less real because you avoid talking about it."

Masao scoffed, all this time he had been trying to convince himself about the exact opposite; and now this girl came along and wrecked up everything he had always felt so sure about. Now he was not sure about anything anymore.

"I don't think I'm the right person to talk to you about this."

"No, you're not. But there's also no one else." She looked at him seriously "We both know what happened and you might as well start accepting it because I'm here to make sure you will never be able to forget."

"What will you have me do then! Tell you in excruciating detail everything about the hell my life has been ever since Yukihira appeared!" Masao shouted finally losing control.

Mikan slapped him. It was not a premeditated action but somehow she felt like it was something she had been waiting to do.

"The hell _YOUR_ life has been! What about his huh? What about hers? What about mine!" she shouted "Have you stopped to think for even one second that you are not the only person in the planet you selfish jerk!"

Masao did not flinch. He looked back at her ready to accept anything she threw his way.

"Why don't you say anything?" she slapped him again desperately looking for a reaction "You are quick to snap when it's about YOUR suffering but when it's about theirs -_ours- _you just-."

"Nothing I say will make it better." He responded calmly "You turn to me expecting answers, reasons, excuses… there are none. As well as you are unable to forgive me, I'm unable to forgive him. That is all there is to it."

"Forgive him for what? For letting you KILL him!" Mikan started repeatedly slapping him and soon extended hands curled into fists as she weakly punched his chest tears flowing from her eyes. "What is with you! Why won't you say anything for yourself! Why aren't you apologizing and telling me how much you regret what you did! How am I supposed to move on if it isn't over if you haven't moved on?"

"Because I can never move on, if I do there will be no one left to remember. If no one remembers then it is not real and I must keep it so, for her sake… I owe it to-."

"I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU THINK YOU OWE!" she cried at the top of her lungs in exasperation. "You owe them your life, and even that wouldn't be enough!

This sickening quest for redemption you are on it's not for them. IT'S FOR YOU! I won't allow you to keep using their names as an excuse for your pathetic little existence. If you think you deserve to die fine, go ahead and kill yourself, but don't go brining her into this because you are a coward!"

"If you are so convinced I should be dead then why don't you kill me! Isn't that what you want?"

"I would like nothing more than to see you pay for what you've done but…" she said looking at him with defiant eyes "I will never** EVER** become like you."

Masao stared at her in disbelief. The readiness with which she had accepted had amazed him. Never in his life had he crossed anyone so willing to honestly speak their mind to him it was such a refreshing change.

"That being said, what happens next is up to you. I have taken the first step, so what will it be?"

They looked at each other for a moment and Masao nodded, an unspoken treaty of no-hostility was set with just that.

"So businesslike handshake or…?" Mikan's unfinished question was answered as Masao attempted a fatherly hug and failed miserably not exactly knowing how to go about it.

"Too much?" he asked as he stood awkwardly close to Mikan's but not quite touching her, his hands stiffly hovering a fair distance away from her back.

"Too much" she replied as they both slowly backed away and quickly shook hands just to make a point out of it.

* * *

The mansion was in complete uproar, Natsume could not really understand why. The maids were hugging and some of the older ones he noticed even had tears in their eyes. Much clapping and excited talk ensued and he was completely baffled by it.

The butlers were seemingly busy arranging something in dining hall and soon the maids joined in. Natsume followed them quickly into the kitchen and watched as people came in and out of it with covered trays.

A second later one of the younger girls went skipping into the kitchen and announced they were heading back. Everyone set to work twice as fast and came running to the entrance a moment later after they were seemingly done. They all stood up in two lines, one at each side of the door and stood perfectly still although Natsume could see some of the younger maids fidgeting and giggling.

One of the butlers quickly prompted him to stand between the two lines at the foot of the huge stairs. Without asking anything he quickly did it and looked around at every single employee straightening their uniforms and wiping away invisible dust. He started feeling somewhat inadequate and mimicked their actions. The doorknob turned slowly and as the door was pushed open he could not help but bow down like the rest of the staff did, although he felt slightly silly afterwards.

"WELCOME HOME OJOU-SAMA!" A loud chant echoed throughout the room as everyone greeted excitedly when Mikan came into the house.

Mikan's eyes widened and she blushed furiously. Not knowing what else to do, she quickly bowed and ran straight to hide her face in Natsume's chest. This was the first time she had ever had so many people who actually looked happy to see her. Natsume was about to make a joke out of it but Masao spoke first.

"Now look what you've all done!" he exclaimed "You've made her embarrassed. That's why I said not to make a big deal out of it."

'_He's joking with them?'_ Natsume thought '_Who knew he had a human side to him?'_

"But it is a truly joyous occasion!" one of the older maids said "To be able to welcome Mikan-sama like this, to us is-."

"Okay, okay, let's get dinner ready shall we Harada-san? This has been awkward enough" Masao said trying to diminish the weirdness of the situation.

All of the staff went back to work except for the older one, Harada-san. She smiled sweetly at Mikan who was immediately reminded of her grandfather and could not help but smile back.

"Young master" the lady spoke and Natsume looked at her but she was not addressing him.

"I've told you countless times I'm not a child anymore Harada-san; please stop addressing me as one." Masao huffed.

"I am glad you finally understood." She answered smiling at him "Now go wash your hands before dinner."

Masao sighed in defeat as if he had been through this a thousand times before but obediently did as he was told. Mikan and Natsume both watched as he went up the stairs and disappeared into one of the corridors.

"He is not a bad man you see" the old lady spoke "He has been lonely for so long… ever since Izumi -."

"You know Yukihira Izumi?" Mikan cut her off suddenly.

"Of course I do dear." She replied softly "What kind of grandmother would I be if I didn't?"

* * *

**A/N:** Maybe this seemed really farfetched to most of you, but I sincerely hope you like the way things went down in the end.

As always thanks so much for reading, honestly hope you still enjoy this small piece of my imagination. I love you guys so much for reading even though I know you hate me (I know I deserve it.)

**QUESTION: **I'm wondering if any of you would like a short (I'm thinking a three-shot) about Izumi and Yuuka's story, a sort of prequel to this one. Let me know what you think.

_**To be continued…**_


	24. Moving On

**A/N:** I know no apology can possibly make up for me being a terrible writer, nonetheless I believe I owe it to you guys so… I'm deeply sorry I hope you haven't given up on me yet.

And also thank you so much for all your support!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Gakuen Alice or any of its characters.

**Chapter 24 Moving On**

Dinner was, as could be expected, an extremely uncomfortable affair. No words were exchanged as the unlikely trio sat in awkward silence fidgeting with their cutlery. It was not a long time before Natsume grew weary of the situation as he attempted to silently chew on a particularly crisp bit of chicken and the almost deafening crunching noise echoed throughout the room.

Having been raised as good-mannered gentleman he knew this was not proper etiquette and thus suddenly stopped his chewing and tried to swallow the food as was; which was not the most brilliant of ideas as he subsequently started choking on said bit of chicken and the coughing and heaving that followed were not exactly gentlemanly-like at all.

After unceremoniously downing a glass of water the episode was over but the mood seemed to have lightened slightly as Mikan laughed rather indiscreetly and Masao stared with confused eyes. He could not have done better had he done it on purpose.

"I'm fine if anyone cares" Natsume said trying to steady his breath.

"I'm sorry" Mikan managed to blurt between chuckles "You weren't doing it on purpose?"

"Why would I do something like that on purpose!"

"How should I know? You're the one who's always doing stupid things to break the ice!"

"Oh _**I'm**_ the one who does stupid things now!"

As the usual bickering continued Masao looked at the two quarreling teens and a tiny smile spread on his face. This was the first time in over ten years his house was filled with joyful voices. In spite of everything that had happened, the fact that someone like him could actually enjoy such a happy scene seemed, even now, slightly unbelievable. He felt a little apprehensive of intervening in the conversation lest he make the situation uncomfortable again.

"Besides you were the one who suggested it. Why should I be the one to-?"

"All I'm saying is, since I'm letting you stay at my place and all, you should make my meals. Breakfast in bed would be nice…" Mikan retorted cutting Natsume's sentence short.

"So it's like paying rent then? I should have known there was a limit to how magnanimous you can be." He replied with a slight amused tone.

"Now that you mention it, that's not a bad idea. I let you stay at my place and you do the chores!"

"Why should I-?" Natsume was suddenly cut off.

"_Stay over_?" Masao glared at the young man sitting a few feet away. "What exactly do you mean by '_stay over'_, hm Hyuuga?"

"I- I can explain! It's not what it sounds like. Because I left home and all she's letting me- I'm just- We're not- She's-." Natsume started sweating and rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

Masao fell silent for a second as he realized what he was doing. What right did he have to act like an overprotective parent? It was not his place to complain and as he watched Mikan turning to him about to speak he was certain she would say something along the lines of "it's none of your business."

"It's not…" she started hesitantly "It's not what you think! He's even staying in his own room I swear!"

The older Sakura was speechless. Did this mean it was okay for him to join in their little game?

"So you don't deny it." Masao exclaimed "A young lady and a disrespectful brat sharing the same roof! Who knows what goes on in that head of yours, you brat!"

"He's got you there, you know?" Mikan prompted.

"Well at least I'm not the one who walks naked around the house!" Natsume defended hastily.

Mikan's face turned beet red, so did Masao's although his was for a completely different reason, if the vein about to pop in his forehead was any sign of that.

"I- I was not walking around naked Kazume! Stop saying things that can be misunderstood!"

"Oh that's right, my bad, you weren't naked, you were wearing a _**towel**_." He retorted rolling his eyes.

"Shut up! Besides that was just _**one time**_. At least I don't walk around in my underpants polka-dots!"

"You aren't really helping your case here since _**YOU **_asked _**ME **_to strip Minako." He smirked at her as her blush became more intense.

It seemed both of them had forgotten the adult about to explode sitting next to them but they both noticed him as he slammed his fist on the table and called for two of the maids to enter the room. Both teens sat in silence as they stared at Masao.

"I want you to move all of the young lady's belongings to the room on the second floor." He said to the maids who looked absolutely astounded "You can bring yours yourself" he added turning to Natsume "We'll see if I can spare a supply closet for you to sleep in."

"Wha- buh- I didn't even-." Natsume was interrupted by an outraged Mikan.

"What do you mean move my things? I'm fine where I am, I like having my privacy besides I've always been there since -."

"Well, not anymore you're not." Masao said with a decisive tone "I'll have you both here where I can keep a close eye on you." He glanced sideways at Natsume "Especially you."

"Like hell I am! You can't tell me what to do!" Mikan suddenly shouted.

"Watch me." He replied simply.

Masao knew he might be stepping over the line but he did not care. He would not let Mikan be living in the same house as that brat unsupervised. Even the surveillance cameras were only set in the living room to ensure her safety but were generally kept off to protect her privacy.

So, maybe he had no right to be meddling into her business but at least in this he would not budge. He knew that even if she got mad at him this was for the best, no good could come out of letting two teenagers run amuck, what with hormones and whatnot. Not to mention the fact that the brat was a Hyuuga and if Masao had learnt anything about Hyuugas in his time was that they were not exactly the innocent type.

Who knew what that Natsume was thinking? What he had done with-? Oh god! What _**HAD**_ he done to the innocent Mikan! He hadn't _**touched**_ her, had he?

"You're being so unreasonable!" Mikan complained.

"And you are being so whinny." Masao countered "Now, if you want to you can move your things yourself but you must do it now."

Mikan looked like she was about to retort but she just huffed and muttered an angry "Fine" between her teeth and stomped over to the door "This isn't over!" she called over her shoulder before storming out.

"I think I may have stepped over the line." He commented after she was already gone.

"Are you kidding? Didn't you see how happy she was?" Natsume asked.

"Happy?" Masao inquired surprised "She looked like she was ready to bite my head off!"

"Trust me, if she had really wanted to she would have." Natsume reassured him "I think she was really enjoying fighting with you like that. That must have been the first time in her life anyone treated her like a child who needs to be protected rather than an adult who should _'know better'_."

Masao pondered on these words for a moment. True, he had never treated Mikan as a child, let alone as someone who needed protection. He did not want her to rely on him so he had kept her away.

"That fight just now" Natsume added "was really like a normal teenager arguing with her dad."

Masao smiled in spite of himself. "Perhaps I may be able to spare a proper room for you after all."

"That would be nice." Natsume said "Oh, and just so you know we really haven't _done _anything. Though I don't really think that's the only reason you want her here, I just thought you might want to know."

"Yes, it is indeed good to know."

"I mean, everything has been so hectic lately no one has had any time to relax and all… besides kissing we haven't really-." Natsume suddenly shut his mouth as he noticed the visible twitch in Masao's right eyebrow.

"I take back what I just said" he said between gritted teeth "A supply closet is too good for you. I'll have you sleep with the dogs you perverted brat!" he shouted as he chased Natsume out of the building.

Masao walked to the study and dropped himself on the armchair sighing.

"Is it really okay for someone like me…" he pondered out loud "to be able to feel the simple joy of sharing a peaceful meal?" he looked out the window at the darkening sky.

"_Yuuka-_." He choked on his words. "_Is it all right for this horrible man to protect her in your place?" _He softly rubbed his eyes with the tips of his fingers. "_After everything I've done can I-?"_

As tears started trickling down his cheeks Masao covered his face with his hands and softly began sobbing. For some reason he did not understand a smile never faded from his features.

* * *

"Admit it!" Natsume said smirking as he sat watching her putting her clothes away in a box "You can't even stop smiling long enough to deny it."

"I am not happy!" Mikan said trying to wipe the smile off her face.

"You don't have to lie to me, you know? I can see it in your eyes."

"W- Well maybe I am the tiniest little bit… _glad_" she whispered the last word in a hushed tone so he would not hear.

"Aw look at you acting all coy. That is so ad-." A stray flying shoe found its way to Natsume's stomach before he could finish his line.

"You acting like an idiot is incredibly annoying." Mikan said as she sighed and sat at the edge of the bed "It's just that, this feels so… unreal. I don't know even know what I'm trying to do here."

Natsume stared at her for a moment and pondered whether to make a joke about how she never knew what she was doing but thought better of it. He realized this was probably one of those times to get serious so he simply took a seat next to her and waited for her to keep talking.

"Is it okay for me to just accept what's happening? Aren't I being a bit of a hypocrite? Shouldn't I hate that man? Shouldn't I be trying to get revenge on him? And yet I'm just having dinner with him like it's nothing. And it's not even like I don't understand his feelings at all. I mean, if you hadn't been here with me I don't know what I would've done…" a little out of breath after her long rambling she stared at him expecting a reply.

Natsume did not look her way, he did not even speak and had he wanted to he wouldn't have known what to say. He silently put his hand over hers as if to reassure her that it would be all right but couldn't bring himself to tell her so for he did not know himself if it ever would be.

Deep down he knew that there was no way this could end well for everyone. Seeing Mikan so troubled only made him think about things he would rather ignore for the time being. He needed to keep levelheaded for her, no matter how much this was also troubling him she had it tougher and he had promised he would always be there when she felt like crying.

He just had to stop thinking. Stop thinking…

Stop thinking.

Mikan noticed his obvious discomfort by the way his hand gripped hers so tightly. She knew it wasn't just her that had to go through all of this and yet she had been selfishly pushing her feelings onto him without considering his and he had accepted all of it without uttering a single complaint. Thinking back on it she felt pretty bad about it…

Without a second thought Mikan released his hand and swiftly wrapped her arms around his neck whispering a hushed apology as she did so.

A bit surprised by this, it took Natsume a few seconds to react properly and put his arms around her waist and as weariness hit him he lowered his head to rest on her shoulder. It was at this moment that his brain finally made the decision to stop working. As the warmth of her body slowly engulfed him and the scent of her hair intoxicated his senses, only then did he realize that he had no more strength to hold back.

At the time he pressed his body closer to hers his last shred of self-control tried to stop him from doing anything. **This is not the time for this. **It said. **She's vulnerable and you're both extremely riled up about everything. **Those words were quickly overturned though when she meekly looked up at him wondering why he had suddenly frozen.

For Natsume to actually have his brain completely shut down was not a common occurrence. It had happened before but he could count those times with the fingers in one hand. The odd feeling of peace it brought him was incredible. For a person like him who tended to overthink about everything, being unable to grasp a thought from inside his head was, in a word, refreshing. All of his worries suddenly vanished into thin air as if they had never been there in the first place.

If letting go now meant having all of those doubts and uncertainty come rushing right back he rather never withdraw. His mind fought to keep his last speck of sanity but, as is in most cases, the heart won the battle as Natsume looked at her with a languid expression and immediately kissed her.

Surprised though she was Mikan responded tenderly to his empty kiss. She understood the sentiment behind it if only because she could relate to it; his need to make everything disappear, his wish to forget it all if only for a brief moment, his desire to erase the uneasiness. If it took nothing but a mere caress, a simple touch, this at the very least she could do for him.

Before he realized it Natsume found himself pushing Mikan down onto the bed. The moment her back hit the mattress however she unintentionally let out a yelp of bewilderment which instantly snapped Natsume back into reality. As if he had been awoken from a trance he stared with shocked eyes at her the moment he noticed what he was doing, what he was going to do.

He glanced at her disheveled hair and her flushed cheeks and couldn't help but feel the urge to pretend nothing had happened and continue what he was doing. Alas his mind finally settled down and as his heartbeat slowed down and his breath returned to a normal rhythm he drew back with a heavy sigh.

"Sorry" he said as he got off the bed and helped her sit back up.

"Don't be" she replied "Especially when I should be the one saying that."

"What for?"

"Not kicking you awake"

"Ah, yes, that was entirely your fault… and would you please not give me that look? It just makes me feel worse."

"What look?" she asked looking affectionately at him.

"_That_ look! It makes me really uncomfortable after-. Just forget it, I'm going to take a shower, I'll come back to help you move your stuff when you're done." After that he quickly walked out of the room leaving Mikan to resume her packing.

'_Brilliant idea a shower…'_ he thought as he stepped into the warm water '_Just the place to go when the last thing you want is to think.'_ He remarked sarcastically.

**Don't beat yourself up, kid. You did the right thing.** The little voice in his head prompted.

"Oh, perfect, _you_… just what I needed. And where do you get off calling me kid anyway?"

**Don't be like that! It's just an **_**endearment**_**. Besides it sounds good for lecturing purposes. **

"I'm not going to let me lecture myself!"

**Well too bad kid, there's really nothing you can do about it.**

Natsume groaned and banged his head softly against the marble wall "Don't you have a mute button or something?"

**No, so shut up and listen. First off, about Mikan, you need to understand that girls are...**

Natsume grumbled and simply let his mind continue to torment him as he went about quietly with his business and attempted not to strike conversation with himself again; insanity had its limits too.

* * *

That night, after having settled down in her room, Mikan sat silently in the sitting room. She had found herself unable to fall asleep so she had decided to do some exploring and the gorgeous brown tail piano in the room had caught her eye. She sat in front of it and let her fingers trace the keys.

It had been so long since she had last played. She remembered the stories Jii-chan told her about her mother and how beautifully she could play and because of it she had decided to do the same, every time she played she felt somehow closer to her. She had stopped however when she deemed it a waste of time she could be using to become a more suitable woman for Kaname. How foolish she had been.

Hesitantly Mikan placed her hands in position and pushed one of the keys. As the sound echoed through the room she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and raised both her hands slightly. As she released the air from her lungs she let her arms fall and her fingers started quickly hitting the keys. So lost was she in the melancholic music filling the room that she did not notice the presence of the person behind her.

"Moonlight sonata" the intruder said making Mikan stop abruptly.

"I'm sorry! I couldn't sleep and I found the piano and I just-!"

"It was her favorite piece." Masao said sitting down on a couch and lighting a cigar "She said it felt like her life story being told in three movements. Of course at the time I had no idea what she meant, I only understood it when she finally left."

Mikan did not say anything in response, she chose to continue playing. Her favorite piece, her life story in three movements, she could identify with that. The painful yet strong first, as her hands slid expertly through the notes memories of her childhood, Jii-chan and becoming part of the Sakura family. Everything seemed like nothing but a far off dream, still the sorrow was fresh in her memories.

As she slipped into the second movement and a more cheery sound filled the room she could almost see Natsume's face on that very first day she had thrown that paper airplane. Although it was quite short it made her smile in spite of herself. That was until she reached the third and final movement.

She knew this was it. Whatever happened from now on was exactly what fit into this tune. Her fingers rapidly moved through the intricate patter of keys that made the melody and her breath started becoming shallower. She could feel fear and despair thinking about what lay ahead and suddenly her hands dropped stiffly on the keyboard producing a discordant disturbing sound, her body refusing to play any further.

"Exactly" Masao said blowing the smoke of his cigar and staring at the mist as it disappeared "If you really want to stop the music from playing you know what you have to do."

"Do you really think that I…" Mikan abruptly turned around on her chair and faced him "would be convinced so easily? Stop the music? Why would I want to do that? " she added with a defiant smile on her face. "I'll just change it to suit my pace."

Masao who had been puffing on his cigar unexpectedly choked on his response and started coughing.

"Also" said Mikan "in a completely unrelated topic. I want to ask you about Harada-san."

"You talked to her?" said Masao in a shocked voice.

"Yes, well, not really… See, it was really strange. When I asked her about my dad she didn't seem to know anything about, well, anything."

"You didn't say anything about it, did you?"

"No."

"That's good."

"That's what I want to talk to you about. Why isn't-?"

"Harada-san is, as you probably know, the mother of that maid who eloped with Izumi's father some 35 or 40 years ago I think."

"So then she is my-!"

"You should keep quiet about it. She doesn't remember any of the incidents from 20 years ago."

"What do you mean doesn't remember?"

"When she found out about what happened to Izumi and what he had done her heart couldn't cope. The doctors said her brain had blocked the memories of it due to the shock and that it'd be better not to speak to her of it unless she remembered on her own."

"So right now where does she think her grandson is?"

"Somewhere living happily with Yuuka I presume" he replied grimly "She never brings it up for my sake so it works well enough for all of us."

Mikan looked dejected, like her last childhood illusion had just disappeared.

"She's been like a second mother to me, Harada-san, so I would appreciate it if you didn't do something that would bring her woeful thoughts. Her heart might be too weak to take it this time."

"Can I… still speak to her, about them?"

Masao looked thoughtful for a moment and then simply replied "So long as you don't mention anything about what happened or who you are..."

She nodded and dazedly walked out of the room without another word.

"Change the music" he muttered to no one "now why didn't I think of that before?"

"It's not too late" Natsume's voice cut through the silence.

Masao scoffed "Eavesdropping?"

"More like keeping an eye on"

"YOU keep an eye on ME?"

"Somebody has to…"

"Not as dumb as you look, eh?" said Masao walking past Natsume into the hallway.

"It's not like I think you'll betray her…"

"Not so sure about where you stand then?" he asked giving his back to the young Hyuuga.

"Something like that."

"Good." He replied before disappearing into the dark corridor.

* * *

The thing about groundbreaking revelations is that they usually give you no time to adapt to them before normal life comes back into the picture. Also, the thing about normal life after groundbreaking revelations is how incredibly surreal and far away it seems. So, going to school the next day was… strange to say the least.

Sitting at the table during lunchtime was incredibly abnormal. To everyone around them it seemed as though everything had just gone back to how it used to be and the peaceful days had returned and somehow it felt as though it really had. So both Natsume and Mikan silently agreed that at least for now they would relax and just go with it.

Remarkably enough, it seemed that everyone had settled into the idea that Mikan and Natsume were dating and nobody found it the least bit extraordinary, or at least they didn't dare utter a word about it. It was as if his existence as the outcast at Alice Gakuen had been completely erased of the collective memory.

"All joking aside though" Koko commented casually "I honestly thought that if anything Mikan would be dating Kaname."

"Now that you mention it" Ruka pitched in "I've heard something like that before…"

"Don't be silly guys" Kaname finally spoke looking nervously at Natsume "Mikan-chan and I have always been like siblings."

"And besides this guy probably already has someone he likes! Though he won't say who it is…"

"Tsu- Tsubasa!" Kaname stuttered as his classmate took a seat beside him. "It's not like that okay?"

For some reason the atmosphere became heavy and silence set in. Natsume couldn't help but stare devilishly at Kaname and then at Hotaru who was quietly sipping some juice apparently oblivious to what was happening around her. Ruka was the only one who clearly caught on to this and muttered an amused "Oh" while turning his gaze towards Kaname.

"You always say that but I know I'm right." Tsubasa defended breaking the silence.

"Andou-senpai, if Sonou-senpai says it's not like that then you shouldn't tease him." Said Ruka pleasantly "Right, Sonou-senpai?" he added flashing him a charming friendly smile.

"Right" Kaname returned his gesture with an equally gracious princely smile.

"Well! This is certainly interesting. You guys are freakishly similar." Natsume commented.

"Oh? Whatever do you mean Natsume-kun?" Kaname asked smiling politely at him.

"Yeah, what makes you think that?" Ruka beamed at him happily.

Natsume knew better than to believe in those smiles by this point. He could feel the cold murderous aura behind them and the promise of certain death if he spoke out of place but this was too great a chance to let it go.

"You know… blond hair, blue eyes…" he began "_same taste in women…"_ he added lowly smirking at the pair.

"Same taste in wh-?" Tsubasa tried to speak when suddenly

"TSUBASA!" Misaki's shriek echoed through the cafeteria.

"Oh boy, what did I do now? Hey, what day is it today? I didn't miss her birthday yet, did I?"

"You might want to hide under the table" Mikan chimed in helpfully.

"Don't bother" said Misaki standing behind Tsubasa and grappling his shoulders.

"Mi- mi- Mi- Misaki I'm so sorry! I'll never do it again I promise! Please have mercy!" Tsubasa said desperately covering his face behind his arms.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Misaki asked looking suspiciously at him "I came to thank you for finishing the decorations for the-. Wait, what did you do?"

"Deco-? Um… I was just kidding? Of course I didn't do anything."

Misaki sighed "Fine. I need you to help me with the touchups for the costumes."

"It's gonna have to wait Misaki we were in the middle of-."

"What? You're saying there's something more important than helping your girlfriend prepare for our last Alice Festival?"

"She's right Andou-senpai" said Ruka "You should be gentler to your girlfriend."

"But I-."

"No buts Tsubasa, this is important for her you should be a supportive boyfriend" said Kaname.

"Kaname, Ruka you guys are so sweet!" Misaki turned to Tsubasa and smacked him over the head "You should learn from them Tsubasa!"

"Misaki you little- and you guys too don't get on her side!"

"Come on stop whining! You're coming with me anyway…" she said grabbing his arm.

Both Kaname and Ruka smiled nicely at him and waved as Tsubasa was dragged away by his girlfriend.

"Well lunch break is almost over anyway so we should be heading back" said Koko.

Without another word the group stood up and started walking back to their classrooms, Natsume and Mikan lagging slightly behind.

"It's all right" he told her "You don't want to make them unnecessarily worried anyway, do you?"

"Yeah, I guess…" she said "It's just that… it feels kind of artificial."

"Didn't it before?"

"Well, yes, but it's different now… I don't really think I can explain it."

"I can. That's Mikan trying to break out right there." He said smirking at her "Seems like she's tired of waiting for the brave prince to come and rescue her." He added ruffling her hair.

Mikan elbowed him playfully and pouted "Baka" she said "It's not like I have to wait anymore. You've already rescued me."

"Wa-." Natsume's flustered response was thankfully interrupted.

"If you two morons are done flirting back there" Hotaru cut them off with a somber expression "there's someone here to looking for you, Mikan."

"Me? What are you-?"

"Mikan?" a woman with short brown hair walked past her friends and faced her with watery eyes.

"Who are you?" Mikan asked taking a step backwards, away from the woman.

"It's me!" she said bursting into tears "It's mommy!"

"You guys go ahead I'll be right over." She said to her friends and though hesitantly they eventually left her behind understanding it was better not meddle for now.

"Go away" she said coldly brushing past her after everyone was out of earshot except Natsume who stood in place.

"Wait! Don't go! I'm sorry! Please listen to me!" she pleaded grabbing the sleeve of her shirt.

She quickly shook her off and looked at her with disgust "Get out of my face woman. If you get my friends involved into this I will not forgive you."

"Mikan please let me explain I'm your mother, Yuuka! You can't-!"

Mikan slapped her across the face not holding back an ounce of strength making her lose her balance and collapse onto the floor clutching her cheek.

"Don't you ever dare speak her name again!" she threatened "And you tell that bastard for me, no more games, if he wants to fight fairly I'm ready anytime." She added before walking away.

"Mik-." Natsume quickly covered the woman's mouth with his hand to keep her from saying anything else.

"Listen to me, I don't know who you are but for your own good you'd better back off. I'll go deal with that man myself so just go away." He finally released her when he was sure Mikan was not around.

When she looked at Natsume's anger filled crimson eyes she simply nodded and walked off still clutching her red cheek and with tears in her eyes.

Natsume had finally had it with these sick little games his father insisted on playing so he made up his mind. He knew that sending that woman had been his way of calling out to him and he was not about to ignore it this time. If confrontation was what he was looking for then confrontation he would get.

* * *

**A/N:** I wanted to end this chapter on a cheerer note but then everything just went right back downhill…

Thank you for reading I'm honestly really happy to know that there still are people who enjoy my writing.

**To be continued…**


	25. Like Father

**A/N:** I'm sorry! Especially to all the people who have given up on this story already because I'm an asshole (sorry for the wording.) I deserve it, I know. Thank you for supporting me this far and for your continued support. No amount of thank you will ever show how grateful I am to all of you!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own.

**Chapter 25 Like Father**

It was quite an eerie feeling, coming back. It seemed like it had been so long since he had stepped foot in the mansion. It almost felt as if he had never lived here to begin with. As he paced down the long gloomy corridors he could hear his own heartbeat pounding loudly.

He was not entirely sure what he was trying to do or what he would say once he came face to face with his father once again. All he knew was that he could let this go no further. He had to stop him now before anything else happened.

The moment he reached the door to his father's study he took a deep breath and attempted to calm himself down. There was no way this could end well for everybody, Natsume knew.

'_Happy endings don't necessarily mean everyone gets what they want,'_ he reminded himself as he turned the knob and pushed the door open.

"I was thinking it was about time you showed your face," said Satoshi as soon as he noticed his son's presence in the room.

Natsume stared at his father and couldn't help but feel mortified. The last time he had seen him he was completely unaware of everything he had done in the past. He didn't know how to look at him anymore. The man sitting before him now, the murderer of Mikan's parents, just thinking he shared the same blood as this man made his stomach turn. The image of a devastated Mikan flashed through his mind.

Natsume didn't think he had it in him to forgive him for what he had done. Even if she were to say she wanted to try to make things right like she had with her uncle, Masao, he would never accept such a thing. Even if they were family he knew there was no way he would ever be able to overlook something like that.

He briefly thought about his mother and sister and how they would be affected by whatever happened from now on but he decided they could not be trusted to a murderer. That was all Satoshi was to him right now, nothing but a murderer; a criminal who would not hesitate to endanger everyone around him in order to get what he wanted.

But Natsume had decided, no matter what happened, no matter what he had to do, he would make sure Satoshi would never get his way again.

"So I assume the Sakura girl has talked to-."

"Shut up," Natsume cut off suddenly. "You don't have the right to speak her name."

"Oh?" asked Satoshi in an amused voice. "You sound angry, Natsume. Whatever has gotten into you?"

"Don't you dare patronize me, old man," he replied. "After everything you have done I can't believe you can maintain that disgusting façade. How can you face your wife every morning when you open your eyes or your children every day? How can you look at your own reflection and not feel a single tinge of remorse?"

"Ah, you always did have a thing for overdramatizing. And here I went to the trouble of finding your little _girlfriend's_ mother. I thought you'd be happy."

"SHUT UP!" snapped Natsume slamming his fists down on the desk. "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!"

Natsume was infuriated. The thought of Satoshi purposefully hiring some woman to pretend to be Mikan's dead mother made him boil inside. That a human being could do something like that and still keep a straight face revolted him.

"_I know everything," _the teen finally muttered between gritted teeth. "All of it," he finished glaring into Satoshi's eyes.

'_Everything?' _thought Satoshi with surprise he would not show.

"What might you be talking about then?" he asked calmly.

"Don't play dumb! You know **exactly** what I'm talking about."

"And you know I'm not stupid enough to confess to half-baked accusations," retorted Satoshi growing impatient at his son's childish behavior. '_That Sakura brat probably already broke up with him and is enjoying her time with the Yuuka I provided for her. Is this his only way of venting out his teenage angst I wonder?' _he thought.

"It was your fault," Natsume took a deep breath trying to steady himself. "Everything that has happened to her until now, all of it, it was all because of you!"

Satoshi's eyes widened. There was no way Natsume could know about the incident sixteen years ago. He had not allowed Luna to leave the mansion yet, not since he had told her the truth. She couldn't have told him.

"You must be-." The older man was immediately interrupted.

"Don't," said Natsume. "Don't try to lie to me. There is no more talking your way out of this. No more deceit, no more games. Iknow the truth and so does she. That woman you sent, that was low. I would like to be able to say even for you, but I would be lying."

Satoshi glared at him. He wondered whether he was just bluffing to get information from him. There was no way he could have found out the truth, unless…

"So-."

"I'm ashamed to know that I owe my existence to a man like you," the teen continued, "a treacherous liar, a disgusting excuse for a human being, a _murderer._"

"Ah, so, you have spoken to Masao. Have I not taught you not to believe every story-?"

"I wanted to believe it wasn't true, I wanted to hear your side of the story but… after seeing that woman at the academy I was certain. The only way you could have proved Masao was lying would have been actually finding Azumi Yuuka. But you didn't. You couldn't. She _is_ dead after all. So you had to send a fake one. The only reason you would do that would be if you had known for sure she was dead to begin with. Otherwise in time the real Yuuka might have come up and ruined everything for you.

"What you didn't know was that we would find out the truth before you could make your move. And who knows, maybe if you hadn't rushed to get it over with and sent that woman I would have listened to you, you _were_ still my father after all, for whatever _that _ was worth anymore," finished Natsume looking at him with a sullen expression.

Satoshi sighed. He really was a Hyuuga indeed. "What do you expect from me then, an apology?"

Natsume gasped a little taken aback by the readiness in his father acknowledgement of the accusations. Suddenly the reality of it all was finally hitting him. Now that he knew, now that it was finally real what was he supposed to do? How did he continue from this point?

"Not to me. To them," he settled for the moment.

"HA! To **THEM**!? Is this your idea of a joke? What is an apology worth to them, any of them, now?" Satoshi laughed maliciously at his son's juvenile answer. "You truly have much to learn, son."

"Don't call me that."

"What, son? But you _are_ my son. My own flesh and blood," said Satoshi smirking. "No matter what, that is something you can never change, Natsume. Those blood red eyes of yours will forever be proof that you are exactly like me."

"NO! I'm nothing like you!"

"Really now? Are we really that different you and I? Can you truly claim that to be true?"

"I'm not like you!" he repeated clenching his fists.

"You are more like me than you allow yourself to be. You try to deny it, but some day your true colors will show and no matter how much you fight it you will act the same way I would; the same way a true Hyuuga would. It is in your blood."

Natsume faltered. He hadn't considered that as a possibility. What if it was true? He was a Hyuuga in the end. Even if he was fighting against his programming right now who was to say he would always be able to win against it? What would happen if somewhere down the line he finally lost?

"What if, for instance, I were to tell you that right at this moment, while you waste your time arguing with me, Luna is out there about to dispose of your precious little tangerine? What would you be willing to do in order to protect her, in order to protect _your_ happiness?"

Natsume gasped and opened his mouth to shout but before he could manage it Satoshi interrupted with a deep chuckle.

"Of course it is a hypothetical question. If all things possible I would also like to avoid _extreme measures._"

Natsume clenched his jaw tightly and glared at the older man. Doubt invaded him as he thought about what he would have done, how he would have reacted if Mikan had been put in danger. No matter who it was he would definitely… definitely what?

He thought about how after finding out Masao had been the one who had shot her parents Mikan's decision had not been to take revenge but rather to turn the other cheek. He thought about what he would have done in her shoes. He thought about how he felt before walking through the door ten minutes before.

He had not thought about forgiving his father, not for a second had it crossed his mind. He hadn't come here to talk and work things out. He was here to put an end to everything, one way or another. He had been so enraged when he saw the look on Mikan's face as she walked away from the fake Yuuka that he hadn't been able to think about anything else.

"You see? The only real difference between you and me is that, while we both deceive everyone around us, at least _I_ don't lie to myself," said Satoshi grinning smugly. "If you carry on down this path you will eventually lose that which you treasure above everything else. You have to let her go; in order to protect her from the only person who can truly hurt her. **You**"

Natsume dropped his gaze to the ground. Truthfully speaking he had never considered that his own selfishness could be hurting Mikan. If they had never met, if he had never fallen in love with her, if he hadn't dragged her into this whole mess then by now she could probably have been happy.

"You understand don't you, Natsume?"

**The only thing you and that man share is your last name.**

Suddenly Mikan's words echoed in Natsume's mind.

That's right. This kind of thing had happened before. How could he have forgotten? Was it really that deeply implanted in his brain? Had he always been THAT afraid of being like Satoshi that he constantly kept doubting himself to this extent?

A tiny smile crept on Natsume's lips as he imagined Mikan's displeased expression if she found out he was letting Satoshi play him like this again. She would probably slap him across the face and scold him for being a backboneless, doubtful, low-self-esteemed idiot. Then she would beam brightly at him and kindly explain he shouldn't let anyone but himself define who he is. And then he would have to fight with every last bit of his strength not to hug her fearing he might never be able to let go.

He sighed deeply and shook his head. Why in the world was he still hesitating for?

"You're wrong," he began. "The difference between you and me is that I'm not alone."

"Humph, how naïve!"

"I don't care. So maybe I AM a Hyuuga and maybe it IS in my blood; and some day maybe I won't be able to fight it, just like you couldn't. But me? I'm different. Because even if the time comes for me to break under the pressure of my own instincts and fall into despair I know that she will always be there to get me out. Because in the same way she trusts me to keep her afloat I trust her to keep me sane."

"You can't fight it, Natsume! You were born to stand above others not beside them! It is in your nature to step over those who would stand in your way!"

"Well then, I'm just going to have to overcome my evil nature with sheer willpower, am I not?" retorted Natsume grinning defiantly. "Don't worry, I'll show you. I'm going to succeed where _you_ failed."

As he turned to leave the room Satoshi suddenly shot up from his chair and forcefully pulled him back by the arm.

"You are not going anywhere!" he threatened. "Do you honestly believe I will let your childish whims jeopardize everything I have worked my entire life for!? I WILL NOT LET SOME STUPID SELFISH BRAT DESTROY EVERYTHING I HAVE BUILT! If you insist on becoming the pebble in my shoe I will-!"

"Kill me!?" as the words left Natsume's mouth his fist collided against Satoshi's jaw knocking him to the ground. "Go the fuck ahead! I dare you!" glaring down at him with an expression of utter abhorrence he calmed himself and continued speaking. "From this moment on you and I are strangers," he said before heading out the door.

For Satoshi that was the first time in his life to be under the infamous burning glare of a Hyuuga and also for the first time in his life he finally understood why exactly he inflicted such terror on people.

* * *

Mikan paced the hall nervously. After school had ended Natsume had suddenly ran off and told her to quickly go back home. She knew where he was going; it didn't take a rocket scientist to understand, which was exactly why she was so worried.

She had argued with him, told him they should go together, but he had refused. He had made her promise she would go straight home, that he could be more at ease that way, knowing she was safe. He had promised he would come back no matter what, that everything would be fine; but that didn't make her any less uneasy.

All of a sudden the front door burst open and revealed a panting Natsume standing at the threshold. Mikan let out a sigh of relief and ran to him and demand he told her everything that had happened.

"I-." he began. "Forgot- . Went to-. Guest house-. Ran all the way here-." Between pants he managed to roughly explain his current state.

"How out of shape are you? It's not even that far and you're already like this! You made me worry for-!"

"I'm so sorry," he said suddenly wrapping his arms around her and catching her in a tight embrace. "Thank you so much," he added nuzzling his forehead on the crook of her neck.

"Are you okay?" she asked concerned putting her arms around him and patting the back of his head gently. "Why are you thanking me for all of a sudden?"

"For being a part of me," he instantly replied.

Mikan's cheeks immediately turned completely red. "Eh? Wha-? What's up with you? You're acting weird!"

"Hmm, am I? I didn't notice."

"You are! Suddenly barging in and jumping on me like that. You're like a cat demanding attention…" she commented still caressing his hair. "Nah! Don't start purring!"

"Hahaha," a soft chuckle escaped Natsume's lips. "It seemed less creepy in my head," he explained pulling away from her slightly and looking into her eyes. He was a bit confused to receive a confused look from her. "What?"

"Did you get new contacts?" she asked.

"What are you talking about?"

At Natsume's puzzlement Mikan's face changed from confusion to utter shock.

"What am I-? Your eyes!" she blurted.

"I told you it's a family thing. Every male from the Hyuuga-."

"NO!" she shouted exasperated as she dragged him down the hall to a mirror. "Look!" she commanded pointing at it.

"And I'm the one acting weird?" he asked approaching the mirror. "I don't really get what you're fussing over I'm-. WHOA! What the-!?" Natsume quickly removed the contact lenses from his eyes and closely inspected himself in the mirror. "They're... brown!"

"I know!"

"I'm kind of freaking out right now."

"Tell me about it! Wait, you can see without the contacts on!?"

"Huh? Of course I can-. Holy crap! My vision was a bit blurry before, I thought it was because I came running and the contacts were out of place. I never thought…"

"So… do you feel any different other than that?"

"I… I don't think so…"

"Let me see," Mikan said putting her hands on his cheeks and inspecting his eyes closely. "I… don't really know what I'm looking for here."

Natsume's expression softened and turned to one of affection. Placing his hands over Mikan's he slowly removed them from his face and held them against his chest.

Mikan blushed as she caught him staring at her. "That's so sly," she pouted.

"What is?" he asked looking fondly at her.

"That!" she replied. "Your expression is so much more… _tender_ now. I just…" her voice trailed off.

"You just?" he inquired inching his face towards her.

"I just… I-."

Before she could finish her sentence his lips found hers and with that kiss all other thoughts completely vanished into nothingness.

* * *

Locked up in his study Masao stared hopelessly at the ringing phone. He didn't dare answer for he knew very well who was on the other end.

He knew time was running out. It wouldn't be long now before he had to make a choice. He thought his mind was already made up, but as he gazed at the incessantly ringing phone he couldn't help but waver.

He buried his face in the palms of his hands and sighed miserably.

Would he really be able to change the music to suit his pace or would he continue dancing to Hyuuga Satoshi's rhythm?

* * *

**A/N:** Honestly speaking some time ago I had already written the ending chapters for this story. I was not and still am not proud of those so I decided to scrap them and rewrote the whole thing. I will be uploading that in the span of this week so if you're still following this you can look forward to that.

Thank you for sticking with me until now, I hope you enjoyed reading.

_**To be continued…**_


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